As I threatened recently, here’s another Electronic HealthRecord (EHR) review for software that’s appropriate for small private practices…I guess.
ClaimTrack has been around since 1990, and I’ve known one of their vice presidents for many years. The longevity speaks for the company, and the staff I know has always seemed like straight-shooters.
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ClaimTrak offers a bundle of requirements that I feel are necessary in an EHR. A key for the private practice market is not only the availability of a web-based platform (being able to access the software via a secure internet connection), but being able to install it and use it on a simple PC. It seems you can have ClaimTrak about any way you want it.
…and there’s another important feature important to psychiatrists, it’s certified to meet meaningful use requirements.
I’m happy to discover that ClaimTrak has a Treatment Plan. Anybody who’s followed my opinions on clinical functionality knows I’m a proponent of collaborative treatment with a consumer. It seems hard to do that without a treatment plan. The aspect of this to look into is the custom features of the treatment plan…there are as many plan preferences as there are professionals, so if you’re looking into products, make sure it’s modifiable and fine-tunable.
A number of billing programs for our sector of business seem to be developed-as-you-go. The descriptions I’ve read say that’s not the case for ClaimTrak, with all the standard requirements like being able to handle Medicare, Medicaid and insurance billing with a co-pay for the same claim…sounds like a snoozer, but our professionals need to bill correctly or they won’t be working for the consumers for long. I’m also a big fan of being able to save the progress note for a given session and create a billable record automatically…another vital snoozer.
A peer of mine, David Lloyd, who’s well known for designing state systems for efficiency in our business says that central scheduling is a key to building a better mouse trap. In a small, busy practice with few people around to help with the work, and where consumers may be waiting for an appointment, a good scheduling module can help fill the blank spots when an appointment is canceled. ClaimTrak’s scheduling module seems to be complete, enabling professionals to review their appointments a number of ways, and it’s tied into the billing module, so if the schedule is marked as complete, the indicated service could be billed if that’s the professional’s preference. The rage these days is for a schedule to look like MS Outlook, and ClaimTrak doesn’t seem to fill that bill. To me, that’s of secondary importance, since patient confidentiality is met by isolating the appointment from the rest of the world out there, which isn’t necessarily true with Outlook.
In order to qualify as an eligible professional and collect Meaningful Use incentives, being able to write and track the order in the EHR is required, as is the ability to electronically share that prescribing information. This keeps the professionals treating the patient aware of (hopefully) all medications prescribed, so the treating professionals know to avoid a drug interaction. ClaimTrak addresses this issue well enough to meet the requirement, and even has a Mediation Administration Module to record how the medication administration is going. My advice to the professional is to call up for a demonstration, then check it out again a couple weeks later after seeing a couple other products…Some products just don’t fit some people’s preferences, and it’s frustrating both for the vendor and the customer when that happens.
Dashboards are becoming a standard of efficiency in an EHR. This functionality enables different sorts of users (counselors, receptionists, etc) to gather a series of reported figures and access points to functionality, like notes or billing, and for another user on the system to have a different dashboard that better suits his workflow…pretty slick. I didn’t see that sort of thing going on in ClaimTrak, so a professional should be sure to ask about that feature if shopping.
If a professional has a partner, or a receptionist, or somebody else they work with, a valuable tool is communicating within the EHR. This is important in order to maintain consumer confidentiality, and it can be tough texting or Emailing patient information and to avoild breaking HIPAA requirements. I was unable to pull up any references to built-in, HIPAA compliant inter-office messaging system, but in a smaller practice that could be of little importance.
All in all, I was pleased in what I saw. Right about now, you’re likely wondering how much all these wonderful capabilities cost…click on the link above and give them a call.
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