With the many day-to-day challenges you face in your practice — particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic — your EMR should not be one of them.

Ideally, EMRs and other ophthalmology software systems should save time for ophthalmologists, staff members and patients and should optimize efficiency all the way through — from scheduling to patient check-in, to the clinical encounter and billing.

In this article, we’ll look at tips and strategies for choosing an EMR system and the aspects of these systems that can help streamline your workflow.

SPECIALTY SPECIFIC

Ideally, the software designers behind an EMR system should understand the specialty of ophthalmology and how ophthalmologists typically work. In contrast, an EMR created for use by every physician — internist, radiologist or podiatrist — will naturally have to sacrifice some specificity to appeal to every user. With general EMRs, physicians and staff will commit more time to creating their own common diagnoses, protocols and billing codes.

An EMR designed specifically for ophthalmologists can offer many time-saving features already built into the system, including most common diagnoses in one click, intuitive options for individualizing an ophthalmology consult and treatment plan and full-color, relevant anatomic illustrations to augment the clinical notes and aid in patient education.

An EMR with specialty-specific protocols also can put more minutes and hours back in my day. Efficient EMR protocols can avoid the feeling that I’m starting from scratch with each new patient. For example, if a new patient is referred to me for a cataract evaluation, a lot of the counseling can already be addressed in a protocol. I simply add any additional, important impressions. Protocols, however, are only as efficient as the ease with which they can be modified. Look for protocols that you can edit yourself instead of involving IT support. This capability means I’m able to streamline those encounters and focus more on engaging with patients instead of documenting in the chart.

When an EMR makes sense to a specialist and increases the efficiency of many day-to-day tasks, the technology can work for the practice and not the other way around.

REGULAR UPDATES

It’s likewise essential to choose an ophthalmology EMR vendor that provides continual updates to its software. Look for a solution that keeps up with modern advances and regularly brings that information to your software.

Any EMR system is only as efficient and user-friendly as its last update. If a vendor sells an EMR system and then fails to keep up with advances in ophthalmology, its software will become outdated and more time-consuming to work with over time. Efficient workflows become cumbersome workarounds.

When you’re ready to upgrade your ophthalmology EMR, consult the online reviews from other ophthalmologists; look specifically for reports of systems that save time and vendors that provide continual updates.

Also, check for any ophthalmology peers who report a bad experience with a particular vendor. This can include a company that puts most of its resources into selling the software and then becomes harder to find when a system update is sorely needed.

DEMOS

Most EMR vendors offer free demonstrations. Take advantage of this option and ask pointed questions about how specific features save time for your specific practice and patient mix.

Go with your gut feeling. Does navigating the new EMR look intuitive to you, or will you need to refer to the user manual for months? Remember, an easy-to-learn, intuitive system has the potential to save time.

TRAINING

Once you select the best ophthalmology EMR for you and your practice and before you finalize the contract, check what kind of training the vendor offers. The right training strategy can save time in the long run.

Some vendors offer only online video training or require you and your staff to spend an entire day or longer at their training center to become familiar with the system. Others offer initial online courses on how to use their product, as well as in-person training later to address any questions or concerns. The efficiency of online training coupled with immediate answers might work best for your ophthalmology practice.

The dual training strategy worked well for us when we upgraded to our new EMR system. The vendor’s team helped us quickly learn the tools and language we needed to make the system function well for us right from the outset.

TRIAL AND ERROR

This all sounds ideal and relatively easy, right? But if you’re anything like me and my colleagues at Woolfson Eye Institute in Atlanta, you might find the best ophthalmology EMR for your practice through a trial-and-error process.

For years, we relied on a mix of paper charts and server-based EMR systems. However, these systems created several issues for our practice. For example, documentation on our previous EMR system did not meet our needs. We also previously used a separate legacy practice management system, and data was often difficult to access because of the disjointedness of the systems. In addition, the billing intuition was very rudimentary. To solve these issues, we had to explain what we needed based on the ophthalmology patients we typically see. Then we had to wait our turn for the vendor’s knowledge-based team to address our customization needs.

We switched to ModMed because we felt the system offered more functionality, cloud storage, expanded accessibility and customization. It also offered ophthalmology-specific information that allowed us to document the patient visit in a few taps.

We found the cloud storage feature is fast and data-efficient. My images load reliably and professionally when I want to review them with a patient during a visit. With the cloud, I can even pull up my patient’s polished PDF visit note on my phone when I am away from the office.

Furthermore, I’m now able to use an iPad instead of a workstation keyboard and monitor (Figure). iPads tend to be more responsive than desktops thanks to their flash memory. Touchscreens allow me to sort through images with familiar tablet touch gestures like swipe, pinch and spread.

The cloud storage combined with mobile access and the ability to use an iPad saves me a considerable amount of time.

LESSONS LEARNED

An ophthalmology EMR system should meet your needs and save you time. Look for the ability to customize, true interoperability between your software systems or choose an all-in-one option from a single vendor to help minimize interoperability issues and streamline your entire workflow.

Sure, as the saying goes, time is money. But time is also sanity, and the time you save yourself, your staff and your patients can go a long way to increasing everyone’s satisfaction with your EMR system, average patient treatment time and your clinical workday. OM

Byron “Trip” Cook, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist with advanced training and experience in cataract, cornea and refractive surgery. He practices at Woolfson Eye Institute, Atlanta. Through Woolfson Eye Institute’s association with the Southern College of Optometry, Dr. Cook acts as a clinical instructor to optometry residents and student externs. Contact him at (404) 256-1125.

Dr. Cook reports no relevant disclosures.