I DO get approached by countless doctors, though, AFTER they’ve already dumped a lot of money and time on new software.
So, what SHOULD you be looking for and what questions should you be asking?
The first question to ask yourself is what do you want the software to do for you? Do you really need an EHR, or do you need an all-in-one program with which you can document, bill, schedule and manage your practice? Or do you only need something that can do some of these?
1. It’s important to understand that for most of the software programs out there, their NUMBER 1 focus is the billing. Everything else came after that.
2. It’s also important to understand that the documentation part of most of these programs was a complete AFTERTHOUGHT. In fact, some of the programs don’t even hide the fact. “Here are some blank boxes into which you can type whatever you want” is a common attitude I see. Even worse are the programs that tell you that you can create your own “macros,” or use macros that other users have designed.
I recently received an email promotion from a software company in which they shared short videos from three of their customers, showing off the macros they made. I watched each one through the lens of someone who’s been teaching documentation and billing for more than 20 years and reviews records for an insurance company. As I watched each doctor brag about how great their macros are, I just shook my head in amazement as to bad they actually were. Then I felt bad for all of the unsuspecting doctors who are using these macros.
Do you remember when, in high school or college, you knew of other kids who, well, tried to cheat on tests? And then they would be mad when they still failed the test? My advice for these knuckleheads was…
Don’t Cheat Off
the Stupid Kid’s Test
In other words, before you use a set of macros, do a little homework and find out if whoever designed the macros actually…
KNOWS HOW to DOCUMENT.
Unfortunately for many doctors, the answer is a resounding NO.
Rather than risking it all by cheating on the stupid kid’s test, it’s a much better idea to LEARN HOW TO DOCUMENT PROPERLY. Once you really understand the ins and outs of documentation, THEN you can know what questions to ask the salesperson.