5 Tips for Making the Most of your Ophthalmic EMR Software

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• 5 Tips for Making the Most of your Ophthalmic EMR
  Software
• So, youve finally gotten used to your
  ophthalmology EMR system? Maybe youve even
  learned to like it. But whether you love your
  EMR, or youre just resigned to the reality that
  its not going away, chances are good that you
  arent making the most of its capabilities.
  Implementing an EMR in your practice takes a
  significant amount of time, money, and staff
  effort. That means you need to get as much
  benefit out of your system as possible.
• 5 Ways to Maximize Your Ophthalmology EMR
  Software
• If youre like most eye care practices, your
  budget is tight, and your staff is stressed. If
  you can improve your practice by leveraging a
  resource that you already have, whats holding
  you back?
• Invest in EMR Training
• This is one of the easiestyet most
  overlookedways to learn how
• to make your ophthalmology EMR work for you. Most
  vendors offer some kind of online training,
  including webinars, online courses, recorded
  videos, and tutorials. There are also online user
  groups and forums. It may take some time to find
  these groups, but they are invaluable. If your
  vendor doesnt have a user group, consider
  starting your own. Or if you need a more personal
  touch, consider hiring a consultant (one thats
  independent and not beholden to one particular
  EMR). Sometimes consultants are even ex-employees
  of a vendor.
• Many vendors also have annual user group
  meetings. At these conferences, you can attend
  educational sessions (where you can often earn
  CEUs), network and learn from other users, take
  advantage of one- on-one support sessions, and
  more. Sending key staff members to a user group
  meeting is a great way to take advantage of
  learning opportunities at an affordable price.
• Rely on the Technology
• Everyone makes mistakes and forgets things from
  time to time, so why rely on your brain when you
  dont have to? Technology (in the form of your
  EMR) can reduce opportunities for human errorif
  you let it. A few examples
• Embed consents and signatures.

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• Program preferred treatment guidelines and
  treatment option reminders based on documented
  symptoms.
• Program different diagnosis considerations based
  on documented symptoms.
• Add billing/exam elements to reduce billing and
  coding
• errors and maximize billing opportunities.
• Add an E/M coding checklist to ensure you have
  all the necessary elements to code a specific
  level.
• Program your system to send automatic to-dos to
  employees
• based on documentation.
• You should be able to work with your
  ophthalmology EMR vendor to implement changes
  like these. Dont be afraid to speak up to your
  vendors and demand that the EMRs functionality
  meets your practices needs.
• Think Beyond Documentation
• Your ophthalmology EMR isnt just a tool for
  documentation and patient records. Its also a
  marketing powerhouse. The data your EMR contains
  can help you figure out who your patients are,
  why theyre visiting your practice, and what
  services/procedures theyre having while they are
  there. This data includes
• Patient demographics Glean statistics like age,
  zip code, insurance carrier, employer, hobbies,
  and referral sources.
• Clinical data Determine why your patients visit
  you. You have
• access to medical histories, procedures, vision
  correction modalities, and more.
• Practice data The KPIs you can access from your
• ophthalmology EMR are almost endless. Find out
  what codes youre billing, optical metrics,
  revenue across many different variables
  (provider, day, location, etc.), and more.

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• technology. Instead, theyre struggling to
  combine old, inefficient workflows with new
  technology. Take a look at your workflows from an
  electronic point of view and see if there are any
  areas you could redesign to mesh better with your
  EMR. Areas to analyze include
• Check-in and check-out
• Patient scheduling
• MIPS participation (i.e. quality reporting)
• E-prescribing
• Diagnostic testing orders
• Referral management
• Interoffice messaging/communication
• Consider Complementary Software
• Some ophthalmology EMR vendors offer software
  and/or services beyond the EMR. Options may
  include revenue cycle management, patient
  engagement tools, analytics software, a practice
  management system, patient acquisition and
  retention solutions, and more. Some vendors also
  partner with third-party service providers to add
  additional functionality like payment processing
  or POS financing.
• If youre looking for tools to enhance your
  ophthalmology EMRs functionality, start with
  your current vendor first. Using one vendor for
  multiple products will ensure interoperability,
  streamline communication, and allow you to
  maximize the benefits of your EMR.