Best EHR Software Systems Of 2024

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Why We Picked NextGen Enterprise

Our research analysts, after evaluating several solutions, awarded NextGen Enterprise with best-in-class honors for Insurance Payments Management, Medical Coding, Medical Billing Services, Notes and Templates, and Deployment Options.

NextGen Enterprise provides EHR, practice management and patient experiene modules that support 2000 workflows and content for 30 specialties including cardiology, dental health, neurology, primary care and more.

Intutive EHR tools make it easy for doctors and nurses to document patient visits. You can even use AI for note-taking. And with the mobile app, you can access patient info and chart on the go.

The platform really shines when it comes to practice management. It automates a ton of time-consuming tasks like eligibility verification and billing, so your staff can focus on what really matters: patient care. Plus, the built-in analytics give practices valuable insights to improve efficiency and, ultimately, the bottom line.

Patient engagement is also a key focus, with the NextGen PxP patient portal empowering patients to actively participate in their healthcare journey. They can schedule appointments, request refills, view test results and even message their doctors securely.

One area that the system lacked was its integrative capabilities. It scored 77 in our analysis, lower than other popular products like athenahealth (93) and Cerner Ambulatory (88). That means you will need to connect barcode scanners, clinical decision support tools, prescription management systems and others via API.

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Pros & Cons

Improve Patient Care: Get access to complete and up-to-date patient records, including medical histories, allergies, medications and test results for data-driven and informed decision-making.
Streamline Routine Workflows: Automate scheduling, billing and documentation processes to reduce administrative burdens and free up time for patient care.
Enhance Medication Safety: Set automated alerts to check for drug interactions, allergies and dosage errors to significantly reduce adverse drug event risks.

Complex Implementation: Demands time and resources for implementation, customization and staff training.
High Initial Costs: Requires significant investment in software, hardware and training.
Dependence on Technology: Creates reliance on technology, which can be problematic during system downtimes or technical failures.

Key Features

SOAP Notes: Record reasons to visit, social, family and diagnostic histories, vitals, physical exams, assessments/plans, and medications using the SOAP format. Use HPI (history of present illness) templates to document the patient's reason for visit, including onset, duration, severity, associated symptoms, and aggravating/relieving factors.
Templates: Use pre-built templates for patient visits, progress notes, procedures, patient intake, consent forms and letters. Tailor these or create new ones to perfectly fit your specific workflows.
Ambient Assist: Use smart AI technology to listen in on your patient conversations, capturing key information and automatically creating notes in your system.
Mobile App: Review and sign documents, view schedules and see high-level patient overviews (medications, allergies, past medical histories, etc.) Document patient visits using voice-to-text functionality. Save and prescribe frequently used medications with a few clicks.
Order Entry: Order labs, diagnostics and immunization from the CPOE bar on the patient’s chart. Click on order search to see your common orders.
Regulatory Reporting: Automate MIPS/MACRA data collection and reporting to demonstrate quality measures, improve outcomes and earn incentives. Collect and submit Uniform Data System (UDS) reports for FQHCs and eligible providers to track clinical quality measures and other HRSA-required data.
E-Prescribing: Launch the state-run Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) database with a single click. Verify formulary coverage and benefits while writing the prescription. Initiate prior authorization requests directly from the prescribing window with pre-populated information. Securely transmit prescriptions to pharmacies nationwide through the Surescripts network.
Population Health: Collect patient data from EHRs, lab results, claims and health information exchanges. Use AGC, HCC or ASCVD risk algorithms to sort patients into different risk categories based on their health conditions, demographics and other factors. Analyze this data to look for anything that might be missing or doesn't quite add up. It could be a lab test that wasn't done, a prescription that wasn't filled or a recommended screening that was missed.

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DrChrono

Start Price

^$250

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Why We Picked DrChrono

So, I got the chance to get a free trial access to DrChrono, and here are the key highlights:

The platform stands out for its intuitive design, extensive features and customization capabilities.
The software is accessible on any device with internet connectivity.
Data import from other EHR systems is supported but with certain limitations.
It offers four pricing plans and a free trial is available for potential users.

It's a cloud-based system, which means you can access it from anywhere — your laptop, tablet, even your phone! And it covers everything from electronic health records and patient scheduling to billing and telehealth.

One of the things that really impressed us was how customizable it was. You can create your own templates for notes, forms and even entire workflows. This means you can really tailor it to fit your specific needs and preferences, which can save a ton of time.

And speaking of saving time, they've put a lot of thought into their billing features. They have tools to help you code things correctly, submit claims electronically and even track your payments. Anything that helps you get paid faster and with less hassle is a win, right?

However, learning to navigate the billing and insurance modules could take time. It’s a bit confusing to understand how the billing workflow works and how to set one up. Also, you can’t import billing data from your old EHR system.

If you're looking for a comprehensive, user-friendly system that can be customized to your practice, we'd definitely recommend taking a closer look.

They offer four different pricing plans, so you can find one that fits your budget, and they have a free trial so you can test it out and see if it's a good fit for you. It's always good to try before you buy, right?

We’ve discussed more about the features in the See It in Action section. Do check it out to know how the system works in different scenarios.

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Pros & Cons

Ease of Use: Navigate patient charts, create shortcuts and access billing info without a steep learning curve.
Customization: Tailor the system to your specific needs and preferences like customizing templates, workflows and reports.
Easy Medical Coding: Find and assign ICD, CPT and HCPCS codes to patients' bills to save time and reduce coding errors.

Contractual Obligations: Canceling subscriptions can be challenging, potentially leading to early termination fees. Automatic renewals may also catch you off guard.
Subpar Customer Support: Long wait times, unhelpful responses and unresolved issues from customer representatives might disrupt your processes.
Occasional Glitches: System crashes, slow navigation and difficulties with scheduling and other functionalities can cause frustration.

Key Features

EHR: Provide better care with features like free draw for visual explanations, custom vitals tracking and access to immunization registries
- Custom Templates: Tailor forms with specific fields, drop-down menus, checkboxes and even add your practice's logo. This ensures your documentation is consistent, efficient and specialized for your needs (e.g., cardiology forms with specific heart diagrams).
- Electronic Prescriptions: Send prescriptions electronically to pharmacies directly from the patient chart. Access the drug's formulary tier, prior authorization requirements and alternative medications if the prescribed drug isn’t covered. Access patient PDMP data directly within the EHR to identify potential abuse, misuse or doctor shopping.
- Free Draw: Upload images (x-rays, scans, photos) or use pre-loaded anatomical diagrams within the patient chart and draw directly on them.
- Custom Vitals: Create vitals specific to your needs including things like blood glucose and oxygen saturation levels. Capture data in various formats: text, numbers or predefined options using dropdown lists. Access the flowsheet to visualize trends in custom vitals over time.
- Prior Authorizations: Initiate the ePA request directly from the prescribing workflow. Automatically populate the prior authorization request form with relevant patient information (demographics, insurance details, medication prescribed) pulled from the patient's chart.
- Lab Orders: Integrate with national, regional and specialty labs like Quest Diagnostics and Labcorp. Create predefined lab panels for common tests or specific conditions. For example, you could create a "lipid panel" or a "prenatal panel" with a single click. View lab results within the patient's chart, organized by date, test type and ordering provider.
- Medical Speech-to-Text: Use voice to input clinical notes, patient histories and other information. See your spoken words appear as text in real time within the EHR to review and edit the transcription as you go.
- Immunization Registries: Automatically send your patients' vaccination details to the state IIS, ensuring that records are up-to-date and complete. Retrieve immunization records from the IIS, even if your patient received vaccinations elsewhere to avoid unnecessary duplicate vaccinations and identify potential gaps in their immunization schedule.
Practice Management: Save time and reduce errors with appointment management tools, including appointment profiles, insurance eligibility checks, online scheduling and automated reminders.
- Appointment Profiles: Instead of manually entering the same details (length, reason, etc.) for every appointment of the same type, you create a profile once and it auto-fills the details (duration, reason for visit, exam room and billing codes).
- Eligibility Checks: Verify your patients’ insurance eligibility in real time — check what services are covered under the plan (e.g., office visits, labs, specialists) and any limitations or exclusions.
- Online Scheduling: Set specific days and times when each provider is available for appointments. Offer different appointment types online (e.g., new patient, follow-up, consultation) with varying durations. Add buffer time between appointments to prevent scheduling conflicts and allow for patient check-in/check-out.
- Patient Reminders: Send automated appointment reminders via email, text or SMS. Configure reminders to be sent at various intervals before the appointment like — a few days before, the day before or a few hours before.
Medical Billing: Improve your revenue cycle management with tools like billing profiles, medical coding and automated claims submission.
- Billing Profiles: Combine frequently used CPT, HCPCS, custom codes and ICD-10 codes into a single profile. Attach common modifiers to the codes within the profile (e.g., modifier 25 for a significant, separately identifiable E/M service).
- Medical Coding: Easily search and select the appropriate codes within the EHR using keywords, code numbers or descriptions. Perform basic code checking to identify potential errors such as invalid codes or missing modifiers.
- Good Faith Estimates: Generate good faith estimates to help patients understand costs upfront and avoid surprise bills.
- Claims Submission: Submit electronic claims to insurance companies within the system. Track claim statuses in real time. Scrub claims for errors like missing information or formatting mistakes before submitting them to payers to avoid denials and claim rejections.
- Denial Resolution: Generate denial analysis reports to identify denial patterns. Edit and submit corrected claims directly within the system. If you disagree with a denial, generate appeal letters and track their statuses.
- Patient Statements: Generate statements for individual patients or groups of patients based on various criteria (e.g., date range, insurance status, outstanding balance).
BI Tools: Get a visual summary of key metrics and performance indicators. Generate customizable reports to:
- Track revenue, expenses and profitability
- Analyze claim submission, acceptance, denial and reimbursement rates.
- Track patient demographics, appointment history and billing information.
- Analyze appointment scheduling and no-show rates.
Mobile Capabilities: Schedule appointments, send patient statements, bill insurance, document patient encounters, access lab results and more from iOS devices like iPad, iPhone and Mac.
Telehealth: Patients can join the telehealth visit from their computer, tablet or smartphone using the link provided in their email reminder. Providers can share their screens with patients to review medical records, lab results, X-rays or educational materials.

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Oracle Ambulatory EHR

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^$5,000

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Why We Picked Oracle Ambulatory EHR

Cerner Ambulatory EHR really shines when it comes to digitizing outpatient care and making clinical workflows smoother. The software is packed with features that cater specifically to ambulatory settings like charting, digital patient intake and lab integration.

It’s particularly strong in clinical documentation, scoring top marks compared to competitors like AdvancedMD and eClinicalWorks. This means it’s well-equipped for handling tasks like scanning paper records into digital files, electronically signing documents, and tracking immunizations and diet plans. So, if you’re looking for a solution to streamline administrative tasks and reduce paperwork, the system has you covered.

The solution is also pretty flexible in terms of customization. You can adapt templates and workflows to fit your practice’s specific needs, though if you want to go all-in with customization, you might need some help from Cerner’s support team. It’s something to keep in mind, especially for clinics that don’t have a lot of IT resources.

Where the product really sets itself apart is in mobile accessibility. You can send messages, access patient data offline and even dictate notes with speech-to-text, all from your mobile device. The score for mobile features is notably higher than competitors like athenahealth, making it a solid choice for practices that need remote access.

When it comes to interoperability — basically, how well the software plays with other systems — it’s pretty advanced. It complies with major standards like HL7 and FHIR, which are essential for sharing data with other EHRs.

However, it’s not all smooth sailing. The learning curve could be steep, which isn’t uncommon for EHR systems, but it’s something to be aware of if your team isn’t tech-savvy.

Plus, you might also experience occasional performance issues like slow loading times or system glitches, which could disrupt daily operations.

In a nutshell, Cerner Ambulatory EHR is a great fit for practices looking to digitize and automate their workflows, especially those that prioritize mobile accessibility and data security. Just be prepared for a bit of a learning curve and some investment upfront to get the most out of it.

Oracle Ambulatory EHR Reviews Visit Website

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Pros & Cons

Enhanced Accessibility: EHRs make patient records accessible in real time, facilitating coordination across healthcare providers and enabling faster decision-making.
Improved Patient Safety: Features like automated alerts for drug interactions and allergies help reduce medical errors, enhancing overall patient safety.
Efficient Clinical Workflows: By automating administrative tasks such as billing, scheduling and coding, EHRs can help streamline workflows and free up time for patient care.

Complex Learning Curve: Some EHR systems are not intuitive, requiring significant training and time to adapt, which can initially disrupt clinical workflows.
High Implementation and Maintenance Costs: The cost of setting up, maintaining and upgrading EHR systems can be prohibitive, especially for smaller practices.
Performance Issues: Users frequently report slow system performance, crashes and downtimes, which can affect efficiency and patient care.

Key Features

Digital Patient Intake: Enable patients to complete intake forms online before their visit, reducing wait times and administrative burden. Self-service kiosks allow clients to easily check in, verify information and update any changes upon arrival.
Video Visits: Conduct secure, face-to-face virtual appointments with clear audio and video, fostering strong patient-provider communication. Capture video visits (with patient consent) for thorough documentation, review and continuity of care.
Computer-Assisted Coding: Rely on intelligent algorithms to analyze clinical notes and automatically determine accurate E&M codes to ensure proper reimbursement.
Patient Scheduling: Look at what the patient needs, their insurance, their preferences and the doctor's availability to find the best appointment time and location. Coordinate appointments across different clinics and departments, whether you're booking by phone or online. Automatically reach out to patients who need to schedule appointments based on their doctor's orders.
Finances: Check insurance and financial information beforehand, so patients don't have to repeat themselves. Give patients an idea of how much their visit will cost with estimates.
Patient Financial Activity: Gain a unified view of patients' clinical and financial data to understand expected reimbursements, remaining balances and overall financial performance. Track payments from both patients and health insurance payers, ensuring that all revenue is properly accounted for and no discrepancies arise.
Billing: Automatically identify and assign outstanding accounts receivable, reducing the time it takes to get paid for services rendered. Embedded payer rules ensure accurate billing and compliance with payer requirements, helping you maximize reimbursements and reduce claim denials.
Referral Management: Share referrals with any doctor or healthcare provider, even if they use a different system. See exactly where each referral is in the process, so nothing gets lost.
Population Health Management: Analyze patient data to find areas where they might be missing out on important care. Create care plans tailored to each patient’s needs. Figure out how much care costs and how to make it more affordable.
Reporting and Analytics: Send information to other data visualization tools like Tableau and SAP BusinessObjects for in-depth analysis. Generate personalized reports and dashboards to track practice performance.

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eClinicalWorks

Start Price

^$300

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Why We Picked eClinicalWorks

The core functionality of eClinicalWorks is suitable for most medical practices and comes at a fair price. However, many users felt that they were oversold on the product by the sales team. Many users complained of difficulty using the features they needed, and felt that the system interface made it difficult to navigate. Users reported issues with system bugs and were unable to receive sufficient support from the support team to rectify the issues they experienced, despite access to 24/7 support. Some users noted that customer support is outsourced and complained that a language barrier made it difficult to communicate. Ultimately, eClinicalWorks is best suited for small practices with basic EHR needs, though it may take users a few days to learn the system.

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Pros & Cons

Functionality: The system offers the core features that medical practices need, according to nearly 80% of reviews that discuss the system’s base functionality.
Price: Though only mentioned in less than a quarter of all reviews, 60% of users who discussed cost in their reviews felt that the system was priced fairly.

User Interface: While some users mentioned the intuitive design, the interface displays many features at once that make it confusing and difficult to navigate, according to nearly 55% of users who mentioned the interface in their review.
Complexity: The system requires multiple clicks for navigation, adds unnecessary layers of complexity and some users reported implementing their own workarounds to improve the system, as noted in 75% of reviews that discuss the system’s usability.
Integration: While some users enjoyed the ability to customize the platform with add-ons and integrations, more than 87% of reviews that discuss integrations complained that the integrations are difficult to implement and aren’t always successful.
System Errors: The vendor takes too long to implement software updates, resulting in bugs, inaccuracies and system downtime, as reported by nearly 95% of users who mentioned system updates in their review.
Customer Support: Support is available 24/7; however, users often struggled to communicate with the support team, citing problems with the support experts not knowing the answer to their questions or simply not responding to their inquiry, according to nearly 95% of users who mentioned customer support in their review.

Key Features

Virtual Assistant: “Eva,” eClinicalWorks EHR’s virtual assistant, allows providers to view a patient’s progress notes, flowsheet or account balance. The virtual assistant can also review patient history, compare notes side-by-side and book appointments in addition to offering educational videos and other helpful resources.
Telemedicine: eClinicalWorks telemedicine solution allows patients to schedule online appointments with their clinicians from home or in the office. Providers and patients can consult with medical experts around the world using the healow Virtual Room.
Scheduling: The scheduling tool allows users to add new patients, look up existing patients, search appointments and manage scheduling requests. Users can also manage the scheduling of resources and specialty equipment for clinicians like doctors, nurses and other providers.
Device Integration: eClinicalWorks integrates with devices like ECG, EEG, etc. within the web browser. The data collected is structured to capture current and past results, complete trend analysis and create flowsheets.
Hospital Interoperability: This involves data being shared between multiple clinics or a hospital’s different departments. This particular EHR allows communication with any radiology vendor or RIS system which supports HL7 messaging. Comparing and analyzing this data leads to greater population health.
Revenue Cycle Management: When it comes to billing, hundreds of features for RCM are available through eClinicalWorks, including credentials, insurance verification and analytics.

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Pricing

License/Subscription Cost	On-premise: License fee includes a one-time fee per user plus additional implementation fees Fees for supplemental monthly support and maintenance cost is calculated per user Cloud-based: Recurring subscription fee based on a per user, per month basis, including a hosting and implementation fee
Maintenance Cost	On-premise: Additional fee applies for maintenance Cloud-based: Maintenance cost is included in the service fees upon purchase
Installation/Implementation Cost	On-premise: Additional implementation fees charged for over 9 users Travel and airfare costs are billed separately Cloud-based: No star-up or initial implementation costs Additional implementation fees are charged for over 9 users
Customization Cost	Varies depending on user's functional requirements
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost	Free data conversion from existing EHR to eClinicalWorks No upfront or switching cost when changing EHRs
Recurring/Renewal Costs	On-premise: Cost includes monthly support and maintenance along with hosting fees Cloud-based: Cost equals the monthly subscription fee which includes maintenance, hosting and implementation fees

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athenaOne

Start Price

^$550

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Why We Picked athenaOne

Athena offers robust functionalities that streamline many daily tasks for care providers. Many users felt that the system offered all of the functionalities they were looking for and felt that the interface was easy to navigate and did not experience system downtime. Users also felt that customer support was able to address most of their concerns at a satisfactory level. However, some users felt that the claims functionality was unsatisfactory and recognized that the system couldn’t make their desired customizations. Users also noticed inaccuracies in their data, but many were unable to determine if this was a result of the system storing information incorrectly or the result of users experiencing difficulty navigating the platform. The high price of this system may be cost prohibitive as this system is best suited for smaller practices that won’t need to provide multiple care providers with access to the system.

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Pros & Cons

Customer Support: Users who struggled with implementation received adequate support, and all users have access to effective support at all times, as noted by almost 90% of reviews.
Functionality: Athena provides medical practices with all of the functionality that they need, as noted by slightly more than 75% of reviews.
User Interface: The user interface is intuitive and easy to use, as noted by 75% of reviews.
System Downtime: Of the users who discussed the solution’s accessibility, 60% noted that they had not experienced any significant system downtime and felt that they were always able to access functionalities when they wanted to.

Claims: While the claims scrubbing feature was praised by users, nearly 70% of reviewers felt that this feature noted that the language used for claims is difficult to interpret, clearing claims can be challenging and users felt that they did not receive satisfactory support when they reached out for help in regards to this feature.
Cost: Though only mentioned by approximately 10% of reviewers, the high price of the system was a detriment of the platform, as reported by 80% of users who discuss price in their review.
Accuracy: Some reviewers noted that they had difficulty entering or searching for their data within the platform as well as found inconsistencies within their records, as reported by 60% of users who mentioned Athena’s accuracy.
Suggestions: Users can make suggestions about changes they’d like to see within the system on a community forum, however, nearly 70% of reviewers who mention this capability felt that the suggestions of larger companies were unfairly prioritized over the suggestions of everyone else.

Key Features

Connected Health Network: Physicians can offer better care by leveraging data and insights from over 160,000 providers and 100 million patients. Lets users exchange information with over a quarter of a million points of care, such as specialists, urgent care facilities, labs, pharmacies and more.
Patient Engagement: Optimize the number of patients seen each day with appointment scheduling. Limit the number of no-shows while improving patient satisfaction with automated reminders and online patient check-in.
Patient Portal: Let patients view medical histories, sign documents, pay bills, manage appointments and more using mobile devices. Physicians can communicate with patients through messaging, notes or even video calls.
Authorization Management: Outsource researching requirements and contacting payers for medical authorizations. View authorization statuses directly from in-app clinical workflows.
Care Coordination: Access and share data, track orders, send results and more. Keep sensitive information secure and share data in real time.
Reporting: Access detailed, real-time reports based on other clinics’ activity to help establish benchmarks, recognize patterns and issue more accurate treatment and diagnosis.
Population Health: Physicians can stay connected to vital patient population data with population health tools. Utilize automated outreach services and network-based knowledge from in-house analysis experts.
Interoperability: Connect to more than 26,000 health plans, 12,000 lab and imaging endpoints, 95% of US pharmacies and more than 1,200 external sites. Integrate with CommonWell and Carequality, to gain access to Epic and Cerner sites, along with numerous local, state and national Health Information Exchanges.
Marketplace: Extend capabilities with access to apps in a dedicated marketplace with developer support.

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Tebra EHR

Start Price

^$250

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Why We Picked Tebra EHR

With a user interface that’s easy to learn, navigate and get used to, Tebra EHR provides efficiency for clinical facilities. Its cost-effectiveness also sets it apart, according to user feedback. However, it doesn’t support all third-party integrations. Additionally, out-of-date tools and features tend to slow down users. Feedback is balanced regarding billing features and customer support, with some users considering them positives while others view them negatively. Overall, the product can be a good choice for independent medical practitioners.

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Pros & Cons

User-Friendly: Over 92% of reviews on this aspect mentioned that the product offers an easy-to-use interface.
Cost: The product is cost-effective in terms of the features it offers, as reported by 77% of users referring to price.

Functionality: Glitches, bugs and a clunky interface impact functionality, according to 88% of reviews mentioning this aspect.
Outdated: About 86% of users reported that the product requires more updates for features and integrations.
Glitches and Lags: Frequent glitches and lags reduce the speed of working, according to 72% of users referencing these aspects.

Key Features

Comprehensive Dashboard: Physicians can check task lists, view the calendar and more at an easily navigable location.
E-Prescribing: Automatically delivers information to pharmacies once a refill has been requested. Allows physicians to save time, check for potential drug-to-drug or drug-to-allergy interactions, and reduce phone calls related to prescriptions.
Patient Portal: Patients can share medical records and view billing information, lab results, medical history, medications and more. Physicians can securely communicate with patients through instant messaging or video chatting.
Electronic Superbills: Create and submit superbills, which are fully filled and accurate, in just a few clicks.
Secure Messaging: Clinicians can exchange information with patients or communicate with other health professionals quickly and securely using the portal. They can also conveniently message their organization’s billing team while maintaining data security.
Flexible Calendar: Manage important patient communications and customize schedules with a comprehensive calendar for both patient appointments and staff scheduling.
Agenda Overview: Provides physicians with complete visibility of their day at a glance, highlighting any items or tasks that require their attention.

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AdvancedMD

Start Price

^$500

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Why We Picked AdvancedMD

AdvancedMD is an intuitive cloud-based tool. While some users were happy with the system’s integration and customization capabilities, far more users were extremely dissatisfied with other aspects of the system. There were mixed reviews on its reporting capabilities. A significant number of reviewers felt that the sales representatives misled customers noting that they lost money after implementing AdvancedMD and commenting that many features lacked the functionality that they required. Though the add-ons allow users to customize the system, many users complained that the add-ons come at a steep price, making them prohibitive to many users. Users also complained that they were surprised by hidden fees after implementation and felt that customer service was rude and unwilling to help when they called for support. A small number of reviews also noted that upgrades to the system frequently caused downtime and reported discrepancies in their billing that affected customers. While many of the reviews were negative, AdvancedMD remains a popular EHR solution. Due to its high price and difficulty to learn, it is best suited to large practices with the budget for necessary add-ons and internal technical support that is available to help ensure everyone who needs to can use the system.

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Pros & Cons

Customization: Of the reviews that mentioned the system’s customization, more than 70% were happy with the customizations available as add-ons to the system.
Integration: Though only mentioned in 10% of reviews, 85% of those reviews felt the system successfully integrated with their other medical software.
User-Friendly: About 55% of users who mentioned its user-friendliness found it easy to use and navigate.

Implementation: The vendor does not offer sufficient implementation support, and the system has a steep learning curve, as noted by more than 80% of user reviews that discuss getting the system up and running.
Functionality: Though the system offers a robust list of features, 66% of reviews that discuss features felt that the features’ functionality was lacking in some aspects.
Price: Of the users who mention price in their review, more than 90% were upset with hidden fees and felt that the system’s high price was not worth the money.
Customer Support: Of the reviews that discuss customer service and support, 65% felt that customer support was difficult to contact, rarely had sufficient answers to their questions and often failed to resolve the issues users reported.
Performance: About 94% of reviewers that mentioned performance said that the system is slow and buggy, with recurring crashes and connectivity issues.

Key Features

Scheduling: Medical scheduling tools allow users to quickly view appointments and patient information by hovering their mouse over the calendar. Additionally, patient visits can be tracked, and recurring appointments can be set while automated patient reminders are sent out, reducing no-shows.
Billing: In addition to collecting patient payments, it is able to verify insurance eligibility automatically while providing users with all the necessary medical billing information in one centralized location.
Clearinghouse: Sweep claims of any coding errors to ensure an accurate claim submission. Any copays, deductibles and additional coverage can be automatically verified prior to a patient’s visit, while on-the-spot insurance checks are also efficient.
Patient Portal: Patients can view lab results, pay bills, message their physicians and request office appointments online using its patient portal. Providers can use the portal to exchange messages with a patient, manage prescription renewal requests and send out alerts and notifications.
E-Prescribing: Electronically prescribe medications — including controlled substances — quickly and easily. Connects facilities to a variety of pharmacies around the US, while users can request refills and access a patient’s medication history anywhere. It uses a combination of personal passphrases and secure tokens to complete DEA-required, two-factor authentication. The AdvancedEPCS system maintains a full DEA audit history.
Telemedicine: Telemedicine features facilitate face-to-face conference conversations and secure transmissions of still images or high-resolution video conference screenshots, and stores them to patient files with HIPAA compliance. Schedule telemedicine appointments and view them in one dashboard calendar.
Smart Dashboard: Automatically prioritize and manage frequent tasks using this role-based dashboard. In addition to health analytics, get alerted on any urgent issues, like abnormal lab results or pending prescriptions and drill down or up into tasks.
Configurable Templates: It can be tailored to a variety of specialties, with note and sub-note templates designed by physicians to optimize workflow while fitting in with a facility’s pre-existing style.
Physician-Oriented Dashboard: It enables physicians to view and schedule appointments, staff and patient messages, referral letters, test results and to-do lists in one location. The physician and their staff can respond to patient appointments or prescription renewal requests, reply to questions or send clinical reports. Its interoffice messaging center also allows physicians to send messages to the staff.
Patient Communication Tools: Select which patients would receive either text or email by choosing from existing criteria or creating a new set. Segment patient lists and send specific messages to enhance patient engagement. It also supports sending sales promotions to patients.
Patient Kiosk Mobile App: Complete intake and consent forms on an iPad. The information is automatically captured and passed to relevant staff to facilitate a faster check-in process for patients.
Health Watcher: HealthWatcher offers auto-alerts and custom healthcare plans to enable patients to follow treatment plans. Its interoperable platform allows it to monitor and trend patient population health. It also allows building custom healthcare plans to manage specific conditions based on factors like age, sex, lab results and diagnosis.

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Pricing

License/Subscription Cost	Subscription fee is paid monthly based on the number of users Offers standard plans and pre-configured pricing plans
Maintenance Cost	Cost is included with the subscription, covering ongoing upgrades and 24/7 customer support
Installation/Implementation Cost	Installation cost is included with the subscription fee
Customization Cost	Not included in the subscription cost Cost varies depending on the type of custom service chosen
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost	Depends on the amount of data needed to be migrated as well as the complexity and accuracy of that data
Recurring/Renewal Costs	Recurring monthly fee is charged based on the subscription model selected

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EpicCare

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^$10,000

Annually, Quote-based

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Why We Picked EpicCare

Many users love the robust functionality offered by EpicCare and find that the shortcut options allow them to navigate the system with ease. It also provides greater transparency into patient data, allowing care providers at separate facilities to access patient records with ease. However, the system’s expansive capabilities are overwhelming for many users, and a significant number of users struggled to use shortcuts correctly. The majority of reviewers commented that the system is difficult to navigate, experiences frequent downtime, offers minimal support and comes at a prohibitively high cost. Despite the negative tone of many reviews, nearly 100% of reviewers noted that they would recommend this system to a colleague, recognizing EpicCare as a leader in the EHR software space.

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Pros & Cons

Functionality: The platform offers robust functionality, allowing users to automate and streamline almost any task imaginable, as noted by slightly more than 80% of reviews.
Shortcuts: Users can create their own shortcuts to help them access common functions with ease. This capability was mentioned as a benefit by 55% of reviewers who mention shortcuts.
Communication: Of the reviews that mention the system’s popularity, 85% enjoyed that the solution enabled care providers at different practices to access and make changes to patient data. This level of inter-practice communication was touted as a major benefit that helps improve patient care.

User Interface: Of those that mention the interface, 65% of reviews note that the system is difficult to use. Many of the features are difficult to find and require multiple clicks to access, while the shortcut option is difficult to set up according to many users.
Customer Support: Of the reviews that mention customer support, more than 60% were dissatisfied with their experience, stating that customer service lacked the knowledge to provide proper support, was difficult to get ahold of and when customers did speak to support, they found that the support technicians were rude.
Customization: Slightly more than 60% of reviews that discuss customization stated that customization options were limited. The available customizations were reviewed to be time-consuming and difficult to implement.
System Downtime: While only around 10% of reviewers mention system downtime, 100% of those reviews point to internet connectivity issues and system downtime as a major detriment of the system that directly impacts productivity.

Key Features

MyChart Patient Portal: EpicCare’s patient module, MyChart, enables patients to access their personal and family health information on their mobile devices. They can also exchange messages with physicians, set appointments, complete questionnaires, and attend e-visits. Patients in hospitals can also use MyChart Bedside to look at their schedule, request a physician’s help, exchange messages, complete questionnaires and access individualized treatment plans. MyChart also facilitates online scheduling for prospective patients to become new patients.
Analytics: Epic allows people close to the patient to investigate their hunches across populations and build dashboards. It also allows users to combine different sources of clinical, operational, and financial data into a single data warehouse. It enables users to distribute and curate their analytics content on a web portal.
Telehealth: With EpicCare EMR’s telehealth feature, physicians are able to monitor patients and provide treatment remotely. With dozens of tools, telehealth handles ICU monitoring, chronic disease management, telecardiology, peer-to-peer consultations and video visits with patients, even those in prison. It can also be used for rural primary care, teledermatology, telecardiology, telepsych, telestroke, teleradiology, tele-emergency, genetic consults, abuse evaluations, interpretations, ICU monitoring, remote ICU, chronic disease management, case management and discharge planning. It can also be used for central deterioration monitoring remote intensivist coverage, second opinion services, patient transport, video visits, telerounding, school nurse consults, employer consultations, prison video visits, postsurgical follow-ups, virtual hospitals, financial counseling, and virtual urgent care.
Managed Care: You can manage nearly all your health insurance operations through EpicCare. Claims can be processed and submitted automatically, while it’s utilization management tool helps to make informed, financially responsible decisions in regards to a patient’s care.
Revenue Cycle Management: EpicCare’s RCM feature lets your health organization maximize revenue while protecting payments. Patients can create payment plans and even consolidate all of their balances into a single payment, streamlining billing and payment processes.
Interoperability: Interoperability allows a patient’s medical information to be shared with any health organization that meets standards, regardless of the EMR/EHR they use. Epic exchanges more patients charts for care than any other vendor — for reference, over 100 thousand patient records were exchanged in April of 2019 alone.
Community Health Portal: It facilitates users to keep community providers and caregivers informed with an integrated portal that updates them about their patients, submit referrals, order labs and imaging, close care gaps, schedule visits and more.
Specialties and Ancillaries: Epic provides modules for cardiology, dental, dermatology, endoscopy, ENT, fertility, genomics, home health, lab, long-term care, nephrology, obstetrics, oncology, ophthalmology, ortho, radiology, rehab, rheumatology, transplant, wound care and urgent care.
Artificial Intelligence: Epic provides machine learning algorithms embedded at the point of care. It also supports the deployment of independent artificial intelligence models using its cloud-based platform.
Epic Share: Epic allows users to extend their system to independent practices, hospitals, and post-acute facilities with the ability to keep billing and scheduling separate.
Compliance: Epic allows users to position their organization with tools for Meaningful Use (MU), Promoting Interoperability (PI), Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), and other regulatory programs such as HIPAA.

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Pricing

License/Subscription Cost	User-based monthly subscription - per user, per month, plus upfront cost or license fee for software ownership Extra fees and costs for additional features and modules
Maintenance Cost	Maintenance cost not included in license fee Users must sign an annual maintenance contract 24/7 system monitoring at no additional charge
Installation/Implementation Cost	One-time installation fee Epic’s implementation team helps to meet goals in the proper time frame and budget
Customization Cost	Cost of customization will vary depending on the functional requirements and modules added
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost	This cost is determined by the amount of ambulatory data consolidated, such as demographics, immunizations, allergies and medications The complexity of data, clinical rules, workflows and more will also dictate the cost of converting data
Recurring/Renewal Costs	Cost is included in the recurring monthly subscription fees, based on the number of users, add-on costs and data migration services selected

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CureMD

Start Price

^$195

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Why We Picked CureMD

CureMD, a comprehensive software platform designed to streamline healthcare operations, has been making waves in the industry with its robust features and user-friendly interface. Feedback from healthcare professionals highlights several key strengths that set CureMD apart from its competitors.

Users consistently praise CureMD for its exceptional ease of use, intuitive design, and comprehensive suite of features that cater to various healthcare specialties. The platform's ability to seamlessly integrate with other healthcare systems, such as labs, pharmacies, and hospitals, is another major advantage, promoting efficient care coordination and data exchange. CureMD's vaccine management system has also received positive feedback for its ability to automate tasks like patient outreach, inventory management, and reporting, saving valuable time for healthcare providers. While CureMD offers a wide range of features, some users have noted that the platform's extensive functionality can have a steeper learning curve for new users compared to more basic EHR systems.

CureMD appears to be an ideal solution for healthcare organizations of all sizes seeking a comprehensive and customizable platform to optimize their workflows and enhance patient care. Its scalability and adaptability make it suitable for solo practitioners, large hospitals, and multi-specialty clinics alike. The platform's cloud-based nature ensures accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection, providing flexibility and convenience for healthcare professionals on the go.

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Pros & Cons

Customizable: CureMD offers a high degree of customization, allowing practices to tailor the system to their specific workflow and needs. This includes customizing forms, templates, and reports to match existing processes.
Cloud-Based: As a cloud-based solution, CureMD eliminates the need for expensive hardware and IT infrastructure, making it a cost-effective option for practices of all sizes. Additionally, cloud-based EHRs offer greater accessibility and scalability.
Integrated Practice Management: CureMD seamlessly integrates with practice management features, such as scheduling, billing, and reporting, streamlining administrative tasks and improving efficiency.
Specialty-Specific: CureMD offers specialty-specific versions of its EHR, catering to the unique needs of different medical specialties. This ensures that providers have access to the tools and features relevant to their practice.

Steep Learning Curve: The software's interface can be overwhelming for new users due to its complexity and lack of intuitive design, leading to a prolonged onboarding process and potential frustration.
Customization Challenges: Tailoring CureMD to specific workflows can be difficult, as the customization options are limited and may require advanced technical knowledge or assistance from the support team.
Reporting Limitations: Generating custom reports or extracting specific data from the system can be cumbersome, often requiring manual workarounds or reliance on pre-built templates that may not fully meet individual needs.
Customer Support Concerns: Some users have reported challenges with responsiveness and resolution times when seeking assistance from CureMD's customer support, leading to potential delays and disruptions in workflow.

Key Features

Enterprise Scheduling: Manage appointments and workflows automatically across locations. Scheduling and matching up physicians with speciality equipment is done using color coding. Includes waiting list management, automatic eligibility verification, family/group schedule, recurring appointments, chain scheduling and SMS/email notifications.
Avalon EHR: Add lab orders, diagnosis, vitals and other patient information securely using the Avalon EHR app for iOS. Review, acknowledge, sign and assign lab results using the CPOE system in the iPad EHR.
Patient Portal: Patients can view lab results, set up appointments, request prescription refills, make payments online and receive messages from their physicians on their own device.
Workflow and Process Editor: Assemble component templates, data forms and a knowledge base to facilitate adaptation to the users' preferences using the configurable workflow and process editor.
Auto Note: Compose sentences and paragraphs according to preferences and generate notes automatically through customizable templates.
Outcome Analysis: Aggregate clinical outcomes and reports in compliance with national benchmarks and P4P standards.
Integrated EKG Management System: Digitize EKG objects and attributes for storage directly in the EHR using this feature, available in Cardiology EHR. Incorporate consolidated patient records with the necessary data in reports.
Interoperability: Exchange information with stakeholders and connect to health information exchanges, pharmacies, payers and others for interoperability.
Electronic Prescription: Connect prescribers with pharmacies for a drug knowledge base, medication reconciliation, process refill requests or controlled substance e-prescribing. It also provides access to prescription benefits and adverse reactions information, and connects to thousands of pharmacies across the United States.
Electronic Labs: Send orders and receive lab results electronically using lab interfacing. Includes trending and task assignment, comparisons of current and past results, and alerts for abnormal results.
Document Imaging: Capture, scan and attach paper charts, clinical images, photographs, X-rays, audio files and medical drawings directly within CureMD, or use an integrated PACS system.
Revenue Cycle Management: Convert medical services into cash reimbursements through claim preparation, same-day electronic claim submission, follow-up, electronic payment posting and other features.
Discrete Reportable Transcription: Populate dictations in pre-designated templates using overnight transcription service for documentation cost reduction and discrete clinical findings.
Personalized Dashboards: Easy-to-use dashboards include user-defined KPIs, financial forecasts, tasks and trends.

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Intergy

Start Price

^$500

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Why We Picked Intergy

Intergy helps you address both clinical and financial needs in one platform, making it easier for you to manage everything from patient care to billing without juggling multiple systems.

What stands out are its top-notch claims management capabilities. Features like batch claim generation and automated scrubbing help practices avoid common billing hurdles by catching errors early, expediting the reimbursement process.

It also enables you to track claims through every stage, giving you better control over your revenue cycles — which takes a load off whoever manages accounts receivable.

What’s even more impressive is how customizable Intergy is. It doesn’t force you into a cookie-cutter workflow. Instead, it lets you tailor forms, templates and even processes to fit your specific needs. This flexibility is especially important for practices juggling multiple specialties or unique patient care scenarios.

That said, any cloud-based platform isn’t without challenges. Reliable internet connectivity is a must, which can be a concern for practices in areas with spotty service. Additionally, transitioning from older systems can pose some hurdles with data migration.

Overall, the system is designed to simplify the complex workflows of modern healthcare. It’s not just about checking boxes for compliance or streamlining billing. Intergy is built to help providers focus on what really matters: delivering quality patient care.

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Pros & Cons

Automated Claim Scrubbing: The system helps you scrub claims for errors before sending them to payers, helping you avoid claim rejections.
Reduced Administrative Burden: Features like automated charge capture, claim scrubbing, and denial management reduce manual intervention and speed up workflows.
Remote Accessibility: Staff can log into the system from home, another office or even while traveling, ensuring billing tasks don’t stop, even if people aren’t in the office.

Dependence on Internet Connectivity: Cloud-based systems rely on stable internet connectivity, so disruptions like outages can halt operations.
Data Migration Challenges: Historical data may be incompatible with the new system, requiring manual adjustments or data cleaning.
Inconsistent Customer Support: Vendors without 24/7 support may leave critical problems unresolved during peak hours.

Key Features

Billing: Generate and send invoices to patients with just a few clicks. Track patient payments, co-pays, insurance reimbursements and outstanding balances from a single screen.
Claims Management: Create, submit and track insurance claims. Automatically reviews claims for errors or missing information before submission.
Denial Resolution: Address denied claims caused by incorrect coding or missing information. Identify the error, input the correct code or complete the required details, and resubmit the claim promptly to ensure resolution.
A/R Follow-Up: Gain real-time visibility into unpaid claims and patient dues and send automated payment reminders to patients to ensure timely collections.
Medical Coding: Get real-time suggestions for appropriate diagnosis and procedure codes during patient documentation to ensure accurate coding.
Clearinghouse: Send claims to clearinghouses to scrub them and eliminate any errors that might cause rejection, expediting reimbursement.
Payment Posting: Automatically apply payments received (from insurance or patients) to the correct accounts, reducing manual entry errors.
Document Management: Upload patient lab results, prescriptions or imaging files directly into the system. Link these documents to the patient’s profile for easy access during future visits.
Appointment Scheduling: Enable patients to log in to the portal, view available time slots and schedule their appointments at their convenience. Send the patient a confirmation email or text and a reminder closer to the appointment date.
Customizable Templates: Choose from over 500 prebuilt, specialty-specific forms tailored to your clinical needs. Edit existing templates or create new ones to match your practice’s workflows. Sync templates with transcription or dictation tools for faster data entry.
Electronic Prescribing: Allow providers to electronically prescribe controlled and non-controlled substances directly from the system. Access a patient's controlled substance prescription history before issuing a new prescription. Get real-time alerts for potential drug interactions and allergies during the prescribing process.
Practice Analytics: Generate detailed reports on revenue streams, expenses and profitability. Track essential metrics such as patient volume, appointment no-show rates and billing efficiency. Gain insights into outstanding balances, aging reports and collection rates.
Patient Portal: Allow patients to access their health information including lab results, medication lists and visit summaries. Enable them to pay their bills online and send messages to their providers from a secure portal.

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Pricing

License/Subscription Cost	On-premise: One-time license fee plus an additional service fee for implementation and added features Cloud-based: User-based monthly subscription - per user, per month
Maintenance Cost	24/7 software maintenance and online support services On-premise: Users must sign an annual maintenance and support services contract — cost is not included with license fee Cloud-based: Maintenance cost is included with monthly subscription
Installation/Implementation Cost	Both on-premise and cloud-based require an additional implementation fee which must be paid upfront
Customization Cost	Cost will vary depending on the functional requirements or features being added
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost	Cost may vary based on the amount of EHR data to be migrated as well as which type of data it is
Recurring/Renewal Costs	On-premise: Annual renewal of license as well as maintenance/support services and add-on costs Cloud-based: Cost is equal to the monthly subscription fee, which is based on the number of users and customization add-ons

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Pricing & Cost Guide

See the Price/User for the top EHR software… plus the most important considerations and questions to ask when shopping.

Buyer's Guide

The Best EHR Software Is All About Providing Greater Care and Utilizing Patient Information

By Kashish Arora, Technical Content Writer at SelectHub

EHR Software Buyer's Guide

Like most professions, medical providers were once trapped in endless mazes of paper charts, test results and treatment profiles. Moving them around within a practice was scattered enough, but getting them to a new provider was a monumental task. Luckily, EHR systems turned this labyrinthine method of patient care around and pushed pen-and-paper records into the digital environment.

Electronic health records (EHR) bring numerous benefits, features and advantages to medical providers around the globe. However, choosing the perfect EHR program for your practice is a daunting task with numerous considerations to keep in mind. We created this article hoping to guide interested parties toward a successful EHR software solution while answering any lingering questions about these powerful suites you may have.

Executive Summary

Help health care organizations increase revenue and traffic.
Facilitate better health care on individual and group scales.
Handle a variety of tasks, freeing up more time to focus on patients.

What This Guide Covers:

What Are EHR Systems?
EHR vs. EMR
Deployment Methods
Primary Benefits
Implementation Goals
Basic Features & Functionality
Advanced Features to Consider
Trends
Software Comparison Strategy
Cost & Pricing Considerations
Questions To Ask Yourself
Questions To Ask Vendors
In Conclusion
Product Comparisons
Additional Resources

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What Are EHR Systems?

EHR systems are responsible for creating, organizing, storing and continually updating patients’ electronic health records as they seek treatment from one or multiple providers. They share many similarities with EMRs, also known as electronic medical records, but while EMRs are mainly for internal use, EHRs consist of digital formats for use across numerous medical providers.

Software Categories

Electronic health records contain everything a provider needs to streamline and automate tasks that require manual attention. Mentioned below are software types that users can find in EHR platforms:

EMR
Medical
Medical Billing
Practice Management
Patient Scheduling
Notes and medical histories
Diagnoses and progress reports
Immunizations and allergies
Treatment plans and test results
Prescribed medications
Demographic information
Imaging files
And more

EHR vs. EMR

These two different software systems often get used interchangeably in conversation. They both reduce pen-and-paper documentation by digitizing and compiling patient charts into an accessible system. However, there are some key distinctions between the two:

EMR systems can digitize patient records for a single practice, while EHR systems can share files with other providers and specialists in multiple external locations.
EHR systems cover a broader spectrum of patient health information. Electronic medical records are often more narrow, location-based reports.
EHRs usually include extra features like e-prescribing and communication tools.
EMR platforms let patients see their data without edit access. EHR systems boost patient engagement by giving them limited control over portions of their information.
While EMRs primarily focus on patient treatment, electronic health records leverage analytics to improve patient treatment, communication and research.

Deployment Methods

While the debate between cloud-based or on-premise deployment strategies is seeing significant victories going toward the cloud, medical providers have a more challenging choice to make. Instead of worrying about sensitive business information being inaccessible or targeted, medical professionals deal with personal, private data requiring a specialized touch. There are a few different flavors of deployment to consider, like hybrid, hosted, SaaS and more.

Cloud-Based

Adopting the cloud comes with numerous benefits, especially for those looking to digitize their practices fully:

You do not require lengthy in-house installation for a system based in the cloud. Instead of interrupting the daily flow of your practice with a crew of technicians and making room for an on-site IT department, your software has things taken care of online.
Smaller practices can often benefit from monthly subscription-based payments instead of the large upfront investments that on-premise systems require.
Instead of dragging charts around to each patient, cloud-based EHR systems provide robust mobile options. Bring everything you need to every visit on a single tablet or access patient notes from a smartphone with mobile apps.
Security has been a concern for cloud-hosted systems because the provider has to store your vital information over active internet connections. However, as the cloud has gained popularity, security concerns have shrunk as providers continue to innovate and implement better security measures.

As you can see, the cloud’s popularity is well earned. However, there are a few downsides to keep in mind, especially when it comes to an EHR system:

Monthly subscriptions are great, but these payments can add up over time. If you’re considering sticking with an EHR system for a long period of time, make sure that you don’t end up losing money down the line.
You can customize on-premise systems to fit your practice’s unique needs. Since the hardware is on-site, a professional can change features and processes to your liking.
No internet connection is required to access the information in these EHR systems. Your ISP dropping out won’t cripple your operations and slow down your daily processes.

On-Premise

On-premise deployments, sometimes known as physician-hosted systems, are seeing less use by small- to medium-sized practices and are more common among larger health care providers, but they do have some advantages to mention:

If security is a top concern, on-premise systems keep your electronic health records data stored in a central location without passing through multiple internet-enabled devices.
On-premise systems can be customized to fit your practice’s unique needs. Since the hardware is on-site, a professional can physically change features and processes to your liking.
There is no internet connection required to access the information located in these EHR systems. Your ISP dropping out won’t cripple your operations and slow down your daily processes.

When it comes to sensitive information, on-premise systems provide a stable, secure and reliable platform to ensure consistent uptime. Just like its cloud-based counterpart, this deployment strategy does have drawbacks:

Customization and better security are great, but maintaining, installing and supporting these EHR systems requires expensive in-house IT professionals.
Large, up-front investments are tough for small businesses to swallow. Not only that, but some updates that aren’t present in current versions could cost more time and money to implement after the fact.
Setting up space for infrastructure, like servers, can be difficult for small practices without the physical space required.
While data is safe from external attacks, physical harm to servers and backup hardware can put critical information at risk in the event of a disaster.

At the end of the day, your practice should discuss which method can provide you with the EHR system you need at a price point you can handle.

Expert recommendations and analysis of the top EHR systems

Primary Benefits

EHR Software Benefits and Features

Adopting EHR programs comes with significant advantages:

Improved Patient Care and Productivity

The main focus of EHR platforms, outside of digitizing physical files, is strengthening patient care. Features like decision support, e-prescribing, lab orders and real-time reports let providers do their jobs as optimally as possible.

They also make patients’ lives easier by cutting down on the paperwork they have to deal with, providing helpful portals that display their information and letting them self-schedule appointments.

Implement Reporting Practices

Moving a patient’s medical history to an electronic environment gives health care providers critical information in an organized environment to identify early warning signs and involve their patients in their recoveries.

Stronger reporting can also identify common medical trends within groups or individuals and then track them. Organizations or practices looking to leverage Medicare programs require reporting tools, additionally.

Increased Data Security

Instead of dedicating an entire room to securely storing documents, EHR platforms protect the user and practice data by restricting access to sensitive information. Only those with security clearance can access important documents that contain patient data.

If your EHR system is cloud-based, your service provides the security measures to protect your information. On-premise EHR systems require their own security measures but avoid internet-based threats.

Encourage Patient Involvement

Getting patients actively involved with their treatments is vital to achieving the best outcomes. Patient portals give them a secure location to read their medical reports, view provider notes, schedule appointments and submit questions.

These tools also help drive patient loyalty by opening up communication channels between patients and their doctors. Instead of feeling like an isolated medical chart, patients can openly communicate with their providers and foster open relationships.

Receive Government Incentives

As we said earlier, electronic health records software can open up various doors regarding government-based incentives. Sometimes, simply adopting and implementing an EHR platform is enough to qualify for rewards.

Remaining compliant with meaningful use standards lines your organization up for valuable rewards while also ensuring that you aren’t penalized for missing technology requirements.

Enhance Care Coordination

Every patient has limited interactions with numerous providers throughout their treatment cycles. Specialists, nurses and primary care providers deal with different aspects of a patient’s care, and coordination features help bring these disparate pieces together for quick analysis and referral.

About 6 in 10 patients used online portals to exchange texts with their physicians in 2020. This reflects a 10% increase in the module’s usage since 2017.

Individual’s use of patient portals

Electronic systems also speed up document transfers between locations instead of waiting for mailed or faxed paperwork.

Optimized Collections

Provide insurance companies with complete documentation to reduce rejected claims. Included coding features ensure correct coding of visits and billing items.

Improve Data Transfers

Patients create a lot of paperwork as they seek treatment and move through medical programs. Electronic health records systems let you organize, digitize and transfer (depending on interoperability) vital patient charts.

EHR platforms take the physical inconsistencies out of patient charting to avoid damage, loss, theft and more while enabling you to transfer documents within the practice or to external sources quickly.

Pitfalls and Limitations

No solution is perfect, and EHR systems come with their own problems.

Security and Privacy Concerns

Data privacy is a major concern these days, and EHR platforms handle some of the most sensitive information out there. Everything from personal medical information to valuable billing data for the numerous patients that cycle in and out requires extensive protection. Your EHR system vendor needs to be on top of their game while adhering to all compliance requirements to ensure that confidential data is safe.

Accurate Documentation

While they offer automation to help curtail this a bit, EHR systems still suffer if you enter inaccurate information into them. Some EHR platforms can disseminate the information you enter throughout other necessary sections of the system to prevent multiple instances of manual entry, but they can’t prevent every single human error. Enter information with accuracy to ensure that the right data attaches to each patient.

EHR Software Report

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top electronic health records software

Implementation Goals

Your current weaknesses are one of the first things to consider before adopting an EHR system or any software system. Your new EHR system should address any inefficiencies in your processes while improving your daily operations. Sure, you know the advantages EHR platforms bring to the table, but what should your concrete goals be for implementing a new system?

Below are some of the most common goals that EHR software has helped health care organizations achieve. While every facility is different, it’s a good idea to keep these particular goals in mind when implementing electronic health records.

Goal 1 Accurate Diagnosis & Treatment	Electronically documenting medical information gives your clinicians the full medical history of a given patient, making a more accurate diagnosis more achievable the first time around. Enable health analytics and health population capabilities to keep track of a group of patients and compare data. A patient's health patterns can be recognized and used to provide a predicted diagnosis and recommend the proper treatment automatically.
Goal 2 Increased Productivity & Efficiency	In addition to helping provide more accurate diagnoses and treatment, electronic health records have also helped health organizations increase the number of patients they can treat. When you combine these things, you get happier patients and customers. You can increase your revenue by increasing your health facility's overall daily traffic. Automating tedious tasks such as scheduling, billing and payment enables you to focus more on the patient. Health facilities can increase their profits without sacrificing their quality of treatment or service.
Goal 3 More Patient Involvement	Introduce patient portals to enable swift communication between physicians and patients through instant messaging or even face-to-face video calls in real time. Additionally, patients can schedule appointments, view lab and test results, and make payments online. Physicians can send out notifications and reminders to alert patients of any upcoming appointments, prescription updates or payments due. Giving the patient more access and involvement helps give them more control over their entire health treatment process.

Goal 1

Accurate Diagnosis & Treatment

Electronically documenting medical information gives your clinicians the full medical history of a given patient, making a more accurate diagnosis more achievable the first time around.

Enable health analytics and health population capabilities to keep track of a group of patients and compare data. A patient's health patterns can be recognized and used to provide a predicted diagnosis and recommend the proper treatment automatically.

Goal 2

Increased Productivity & Efficiency

In addition to helping provide more accurate diagnoses and treatment, electronic health records have also helped health organizations increase the number of patients they can treat. When you combine these things, you get happier patients and customers.

You can increase your revenue by increasing your health facility's overall daily traffic. Automating tedious tasks such as scheduling, billing and payment enables you to focus more on the patient. Health facilities can increase their profits without sacrificing their quality of treatment or service.

Goal 3

More Patient Involvement

Introduce patient portals to enable swift communication between physicians and patients through instant messaging or even face-to-face video calls in real time. Additionally, patients can schedule appointments, view lab and test results, and make payments online.

Physicians can send out notifications and reminders to alert patients of any upcoming appointments, prescription updates or payments due. Giving the patient more access and involvement helps give them more control over their entire health treatment process.

Implementing the first software you come across is not a very effective way to achieve these goals — you’ll have to do extensive research and requirements gathering before choosing an EHR program to ensure the software you choose properly fits your specific health organization.

EHR Platform Implementation Best Practices

Having a list of goals and requirements is a great start on the path to a successful implementation. Ensuring this success requires some best practices:

Open Communication: Depending on the timetable for your implementation, you could be spending a stretch of time thrown into some confusion. As things move around and get set up for future use, you’ll need to stay on top of talking to your staff and patients to keep things organized.
Data Migrations: Medical practices come with vast amounts of documentation related to internal processes and patient care. Making this process efficient, accurate and successful is vital to retaining patients and ensuring their care goes uninterrupted.
Teaching Your Teams: Another significant implementation time-sink involves getting your teammates and staff comfortable with their new EHR platform. Everyone who interacts with the solution needs to spend a good amount of time familiarizing themselves with everything.

Throughout the rest of this article, we’ll discuss the core and secondary electronic health records features you’ll need and the most important questions to ask yourself and vendors during the selection process.

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top EHR programs

Basic Features & Functionality

While various helpful tools are offered with EHR programs, knowing which ones you’ll need your electronic health records software to include can be tricky. However, there are certain features that your health care organization will not want to be without. When deciding between potential providers, the following features are essential for virtually any health care organization, regardless of size or treatment specialty.

Charting and Documentation	Swapping old pen-and-paper charting with a single, digitized location to store all of a patient’s health information streamlines the caregiving process. When paired with mobile applications, providers can keep all of their patients’ information with them on a single tablet. Depending on the EHR program, many of these digital forms can be customized and retuned to fit your practice’s needs.
Patient Scheduling	Handle every aspect of a health care facility’s scheduling, from patient appointments to the staff work schedule. Dynamic scheduling automates and color-codes the schedule of employees, specialty equipment, exam rooms and more. For example, many health facilities have a limited amount of specialty equipment. Smart scheduling helps coordinate the necessary equipment with the proper physician, exam room and appointment time. This eliminates the chance of specialty equipment being assigned to multiple physicians simultaneously, leading to fewer delays. Scheduling using patient portals (which we’ll discuss next), enables clients to book appointments from their mobile devices. At any time of the day, not just during business hours, patients can select an appointment time that fits their schedule as well as meets their physician's availability.
Patient Portals	Patient portals are patient-accessible modules that lead to more patient participation and involvement and help give patients more control over their health in general. In addition to appointment scheduling, patients can view lab results, update payment information and send messages to physicians. Both physicians and patients can also use the patient portal to communicate with one another in real time, either through instant messaging or face-to-face video calls. Patients can even schedule online doctor appointments.
Interoperability	Larger health care organizations, such as hospitals with multiple departments, store a patient’s information in one department and then enable others to access it. This helps streamline patient operations and provides clinicians with the patient’s full medical history throughout the facility.
E-Prescribing	With e-prescribing, patients can manage their medication, request refills and make payments electronically. Physicians can send out prescription requests to several pharmacies around the U.S. and track whether the patient has picked up a prescription. To reduce prescription drug abuse in the U.S., especially the recent opioid epidemic, many states have implemented (or are soon implementing) laws mandating the electronic prescription of medications. While some states may only require e-prescribing for controlled substances, others require all prescription drugs to be prescribed electronically. Before filling out a prescription, pharmacists can check for any drug-to-drug or drug-to-allergy interactions. There is also no risk of a pharmacist prescribing the wrong medication due to legibility issues with handwritten scripts. According to a recent study, 93% of clinicians stated that online patient portals have helped improve communication among staff, pharmacies, lab technicians and patients.
Decision Support	Patients come with a lot of information, and clinical decision support (CDS) features help providers sift through all of that data and highlight dangerous medical interactions, missed information and potential treatment issues. These features require well-thought-out integrations to ensure that a constant barrage of unhelpful notifications doesn’t desensitize users.
Computerized Provider Order Entry	More commonly known as order entry, this feature helps providers enter in and order treatments, medications and tests for their patients. They also help ensure that orders are standardized, complete and error-free. When integrated with practice management, these tools can help highlight anything that requires pre-approval to cut down on rejected claims.
Speech Recognition	Voice recognition technology removes the inefficiency of old dictation and translates short, trained codes into accurate notes and documentation. These features also completely remove the need for expensive transcription services. Speech recognition makes a provider’s life easier by eliminating hundreds of clicks when filling out manual exam notes.
Compliance Support	EHR systems should help you keep up with the various compliance regulations in place throughout the medical industry. Ensuring that you stay compliant, safe and accurate protects your practice from costly errors while providing your patients with the care they require.

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top EHR platforms

Advanced Features & Functionality

While you’ll want to be sure the system you choose has all the features mentioned above, there are several additional tools and functionalities that are also worth considering. These secondary features will vary depending on the service you choose (some of these features are included in EHRs while others will require integration or even an additional cost), so it’s key that you do your research beforehand and find out which tools you will and won’t need.

Medical Billing	Generate billing statements as well as customized billing templates automatically. Physicians can review a patient’s payment information in addition to sending out alerts and notifications. Similarly, patients can access billing statements, update insurance information and make payments online. Patients can set up payment plans or enroll in auto-pay to simplify statement management. They can also receive reminders for upcoming and due payments.
Claim Management	Before you submit an insurance claim, this tool looks over and scrubs claims of any NCCI, HIPAA or LCD errors — these errors often prevent insurance claims from being accepted. Sequentially, this leads to higher first-time acceptance rates, allowing your health care facility to get paid faster while avoiding the loss of earnings due to unqualified or unsolved claims. These systems automatically verify insurance as well as alert you if a particular coverage is not permitted.
Customizable Templates	Patients and physicians can use customization tools to track health and treatment progress. Customizable health templates enable users to tailor a treatment plan to a specific patient. Additionally, users are able to create and edit custom billing templates. Depending on the type of treatment your clinic provides, you can customize templates to fit your health care organization’s unique needs.

Medical Billing

Generate billing statements as well as customized billing templates automatically.

Physicians can review a patient’s payment information in addition to sending out alerts and notifications. Similarly, patients can access billing statements, update insurance information and make payments online.

Patients can set up payment plans or enroll in auto-pay to simplify statement management. They can also receive reminders for upcoming and due payments.

Claim Management

Before you submit an insurance claim, this tool looks over and scrubs claims of any NCCI, HIPAA or LCD errors — these errors often prevent insurance claims from being accepted. Sequentially, this leads to higher first-time acceptance rates, allowing your health care facility to get paid faster while avoiding the loss of earnings due to unqualified or unsolved claims.

These systems automatically verify insurance as well as alert you if a particular coverage is not permitted.

Customizable Templates

Patients and physicians can use customization tools to track health and treatment progress. Customizable health templates enable users to tailor a treatment plan to a specific patient. Additionally, users are able to create and edit custom billing templates. Depending on the type of treatment your clinic provides, you can customize templates to fit your health care organization’s unique needs.

One way to help determine which additional or secondary features you might need is to develop a list of EHR software systems requirements. Remember, the features you require should be specific to your health care organization and might not be included with all EHR programs.

EHR Software Report

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top EHR systems

Current & Upcoming Trends

By 2027, the global market for electronic health records software is expected to rise to nearly $40 billion.

As the medical world continues to be bombarded by life in a post-pandemic environment, services will find ways to innovate and strengthen their platforms.

EHR Software Trends

EHR systems have become critical in a disaster-prone world; here are some trends to keep an eye on for the future of electronic health records:

AI Adoption

Many industries are seeing a boom in artificial intelligence integration, most often due to the efficiency-boosting automation techniques these features provide. While far more exciting robotic enhancements are going on in the world of medicine, AI-assisted voice recognition is poised to make a big difference.

In the near future, developers hope to let doctors ask for specific information from their EHR software. For example, a physician could ask about a patient’s various mineral and vitamin levels and receive a detailed response as well as how healthy their values are.

Predictive Analytics & Interoperability

Various industries are rapidly adopting predictive analytics tools, and the medical EHR software systems market is no different. These features help take clinical decision support algorithms to the next level and combine information from separate applications into a single location. The challenge of passing data between external providers and organizations to meet interoperability standards can also benefit from predictive analytics integration.

Keeping up with ISA standards is an important part of an EHR system and is critical for maintaining data transfers between external organizations. As more and more services include robust interoperability tools, the creation of valuable health information networks is sure to follow.

Telehealth

Creating a safe environment for employees and patients has led to many providers switching to video or phone-based appointments for minor questions and checkups. Safe communication with patients will require robust telehealth features as hospitals and practices adapt to an increasingly virtual world.

It has already been shown that adding tools to increase the flow of communication between physician and patient and boosting engagement increases patient satisfaction. Instead of feeling isolated, patients can leverage their EHR features to schedule a telehealth visit, speak to their physician and gain peace of mind.

Cloud Adoption

The cloud is experiencing a boom of popularity in most industries these days, but even more so for medically focused businesses. Maintaining physical space for servers and storage is a huge drain on resources, but cloud computing removes the need for all of that wasted space and capital.

Keeping a locally-hosted EHR system up-to-date with in-house IT experts ready to put out fires requires large amounts of resources that could be better used elsewhere. Removing these variables can open up rooms for more treatment, storage or office space.

The Internet of Medical Things

The Internet of Things is seeing massive expansion in nearly every industry globally, and for a good reason. New technologies continue to develop that strengthen flagging processes with devices that can transmit, analyze and gather data through shared network connections.

In the world of medical software, these devices include wearable commercial and clinic-based items that help monitor vitals, integrated systems, and networks that make data transmission quick and easy.

According to a recent Deloitte study, the IoMT market is growing toward an overall market value of nearly $158 billion by 2022.

Especially today, thanks to the ongoing pandemic, hospitals need all the help they can get to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Patients can leverage these devices to stay on top of chronic conditions without having to risk continually returning for in-person checkups. Their providers can leverage the data sent to the practice from these at-home devices to keep tabs on their at-risk patients while keeping patient flows to a minimum.

Blockchain

While the usage of blockchain in EHR systems is still in its first stages, it is starting to see more use throughout the medical world. Blockchain technology helps boost accountability and security, important factors that often plague EHR platforms. Using blockchain in medical settings provides concrete transaction data to help reduce instances of insurance fraud, and it also provides a decentralized location to store critical information with helpful time stamps.

EHR Software Report

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top EHR programs

Software Comparison

When comparing electronic health records software, there are a few key things to look for when creating your shortlist of vendors:

Documentation and Clinical Workflows
Billing Support
Available Deployments
Compatibility
Interoperability
Data Migration Needs
Population Health Management

The best EHR systems should also integrate with the other vital platforms that keep your practice running. Before settling on a vendor, go over which software integrations they support so that you guarantee your current holdover solutions can still function properly. Some electronic health records systems are constructed for specialty-specific work, so be sure to ask questions about what types of workflows they support.

Breakdown by Application

Your practice may not need the whole package when it comes to new EHR systems, and some offer piecemeal options that can resolve your pain points for a smaller price tag. Here is a quick breakdown of the different applications EHR systems can offer:

Administrative: Admin features focus on relationship management between provider and patient while also handling things like scheduling for checkups and other visits. Administrative applications also help manage the numerous documents related to patients and their treatment.
Financial: As you’d probably expect, financial applications take care of billing processes like insurance and invoicing.
Research: It leverages vast amounts of data to discover treatment effectiveness and run trials. Research applications help gather this information in a centralized area for study.
Clinical: Improving patient care is a key piece of any EHR system, and clinical modules boost treatment. Clinical applications gather up all relevant patient information to give health care providers deep visibility into their medical histories.
Reporting: These tools help practices gauge the overall effectiveness of their practice or institution. They also help measure important metrics and patient behaviors to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

When it comes to price, things can vary depending on your requirements and your deployment strategy of choice. We’ve already talked about some of the differences between cloud-based and on-premise systems, but here are some more variables to consider:

How many users do you require? Many SaaS options charge by the user — an EHR system may sound cheap until you add up how many people need access.
Implementation costs are another addition to consider. If you’re adding physical hardware to your organization, expect much higher implementation costs than leveraging something a service hosts.
How much are upgrades, and does it come with everything you need out of the box? Finding out that the system is missing a feature you require can leave you open to unexpected charges.
Your patient data migration needs and panel size can also affect the final price tag of your new application purchase.

Price Guide for EHR Software

See prices for the top EHR programs... Plus get important questions to ask.

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Questions To Ask Yourself

Before you start putting together a provider shortlist, take some time to ask yourself and your team members some of the following questions:

Questions to Ask About EHR Software

What do your staff/users want out of an EHR?
What are your business goals? How do you want to fulfill them through this purchase?
Do you have previously built templates that you’d like to leverage for future use?
Do your providers wish to use speech recognition software?
Which additional/secondary features do you require?

Questions To Ask Vendors

Before signing up with a service, be sure to ask them some of the following questions:

About the Software

Is the EHR system customizable?
What integration options are available?
Can the EHR system scale with my practice/organization?
Is your EHR system ONC certified?
Do all modules function ideally?

About the Vendor

What size of organizations do you work with?
What support options do you offer?
How do you handle individual users’ data security?
What are your strengths as application vendors?
How often do you launch updates?

Expert recommendations and analysis on the top EHR systems

In Conclusion

Adopting new EHR systems is a big choice, but the journey to finding the perfect software is a daunting task. Make sure you spend ample time discovering your requirements and talking to your teams to guarantee you get the features they need. We hope that this guide can help get you started on the path to finding a successful product.

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Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

By Kashish Arora

Technical Content Writer

Kashish Arora was a Technical Content Writer at SelectHub who specialized in developing content for accounting, EHR, EMR, practice management, patient scheduling and EPM. She holds a master's degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication. When not writing, she eats fictional quotes, listens to Latin jazz and reweaves the missing parts of her spiritual tapestry.

Technical Research By Dhanasri Yasam

Senior Analyst

As a Senior Research Analyst, Dhanasri Yasam works in key categories like EHR, EMR, business intelligence and HR. In her role, she conducts primary research, collects and analyzes empirical data, and draws evidence-based conclusions. She also has extensive experience gathering requirements for client projects. Dhanasri holds a B-tech in Computer Science and Engineering from Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Aurora's Business School, Hyderabad.

Technical Review By Manan Roy

Principal Analyst

Manan is a native of Tezpur, Assam (India), who currently lives in Kolkata, West Bengal (India). At SelectHub, he works on categories like CRM, HR, PPM, BI, and EHR. He has a Bachelor of Technology in CSE from The Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology, a Master of Technology from The Institute of Engineering and Management IT, and an MBA in Finance from St. Xavier's College. He's published two research papers, one in a conference and the other in a journal, during his Master of Technology.

Edited By Ryan McElroy

Content Editor

Ryan McElroy is a Content Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub who writes and edits content on various software types, along with their broader concepts and the industries they serve, including medical, construction, CMMS, supply chain management and legal. He studied at the University of Missouri (Mizzou) and earned his BA in Journalism in 2016. During his free time, you’ll find Ryan playing video/card/board games, sipping coffee and reading speculative fiction, or listening to music his loved ones often describe as “headache-inducing.”