As last year wound down, Practice Fusion optimized its electronic health record service for Apple and Android tablets — and, in so doing, joined the growing number of vendors making mobile EHRs.
In addition to the obvious benefits of cutting the proverbial cord and arming clinicians with software tuned to specific devices, mobile-optimized EHRs lay a foundation for providers.
On tap for 2015? Patient check-in.
“Very soon the front office staff will no longer have to get out paper forms,” Practice Fusion CEO Ryan Howard says, stressing that this upcoming Practice Fusion feature would finally cover “every step of the patient journey.”
Indeed, Practice Fusion revealed online check-in earlier this month and explained that patients will be able to submit insurance information, prescription status, and the reason for their upcoming visit before they even set foot in the doctor’s office.
The company claimed that its new service will eliminate a quarter-billion pieces of paper this year by replacing the average 3-7 page forms patients complete at the doctor’s office.
Beyond check-in, Practice Fusion will also be looking to gear its cloud-based offering toward medical specialists.
“We’re pretty focused on flow sheets this year and really delivering a lot of functionality for subspecialties,” Howard revealed.
As far as legislation and regulation go, ICD-10 and telemedicine mandates will be huge in 2015 and key at HIMSS15, Howard says. Meaningful Use Stage 3 will also be entering the fold this year, a fact the industry is hard-pressed to heed given the difficulties currently unfurling with Stage 2.
And EHRs optimized for mobile use will be underlying all of the above, Howard explains.
That’s because patients want mobility as much as doctors do.
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