The adoption of electronic health records (EHR) software and electronic medical records (EMR) systems has become standard practice for practically every single health care organization. Today, web-based EMR and EHR solutions are popular choices in the industry.

In this article, we’ll provide an in-depth explanation of the best systems, offering insights into their fundamental features, benefits, limitations, advantages over traditional on-premise options and guidance on selecting an ideal solution.

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What This Article Covers

• Best Web-Based EHR/EMR Software
  • athenahealth
  • Cerner Ambulatory
  • DrChrono
  • EpicCare
  • eClinicalWorks
• FAQs
• Next Steps

Best Web-Based EHR/EMR Software

EHR and EMR solutions help medical organizations digitize paper-based records, including lab test reports, medication details, patient medical histories, treatment journeys and more.

It streamlines data entry by providing Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, enabling swift recording of medical services without the need for manual typing.

On the hunt for good EMR/EHR software? We’ve compiled a list of our top five to help you pick the right product:

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athenahealth: Best Overall

athenahealth is a cloud-based solution for businesses of all sizes. It helps medical organizations enhance patient care and office efficiency using population health monitoring, reporting, patient portal, medical billing and documentation tools.

Limited availability of free EMR programs exists due to the scarcity of developers creating them.

Transfer patient prescriptions directly to pharmacies using athenahealth’s e-prescribing module. Source

Highest Rated Modules According to Our Data

• Electronic Prescriptions — 97
• Medical Billing — 97
• Mobile EHR — 93
• Collaboration — 92
• Notes and Templates — 92

Top Benefits

• Enhance Patient Engagement: Send automated appointment reminders and prescription refill notifications, keeping patients well-informed and engaged in their care.
• Increase Office Efficiency: Automate tedious tasks like scheduling, billing and claims processing to help staff focus on critical patient care tasks.
• Boost Revenue: Optimize billing and coding procedures to reduce data-entry errors and denials. Gain insights into your financial and operational performance to pinpoint improvement opportunities.

Primary Features

• Patient Portal: Provide educational health resources to demystify medical procedures and alleviate patient fears. Enable patients to access test results, schedule appointments and pay bills online with just a few clicks.
• Billing and Coding: Assign correct ICD-10 orICD-11 and CPT/HCPCS codes to generate accurate invoicing statements. Electronically submit claims to speed up reimbursement processes.
• Reporting: Generate accurate financial, clinical, inventory, compliance and referral reports to make informed decisions. Create custom reports to track organization-specific metrics.

Limitations

• Steep learning curve.
• Inactive support team.
• Challenging integrations with third-party applications.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• In-App Data Dictionary — Not Supported
• Curate Data Stories — Not Supported
• Auto Save — Not Supported
• Price Estimator — Supported With Partner Integrations
• Screen Sharing — Supported With Partner Integrations

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Cerner Ambulatory: Best for Collaboration

Cerner Ambulatory is a cloud-based electronic platform designed to enhance ambulatory facilities’ efficiencies. It enables health care staff to prioritize patient care and benefit from real-time insights into inventory management, including product availability, revenue and profitability.

Cerner Ambulatory’s personalized dashboard templates simplify daily tasks. Source

Highest Rated Modules According to Our Data

• Clinical Workflows Management — 100
• Medical billing — 100
• Electronic Prescriptions — 97
• Mobile EHR — 94
• Clinical Charts — 94

Top Benefits

• Enhance Care Delivery: Use clinical decision support tools to make more informed, evidence-based clinical decisions to improve patient outcomes.
• Provide Remote Access: Review and update patient records from any location with an internet connection. Securely log into the platform using provided credentials to restrict third-party access.
• Improve Communication: Share patient information seamlessly across different settings, improving communication among health care organizations. Integrate with communication tools to share patient information, collaborate on treatment plans and stay updated on the latest developments in patient care.

Primary Features

• Documentation: Record and manage patient information and medical records, including detailed clinical notes, diagnoses, treatment plans and progress updates. Automated routing modules help you review and file external documents within minutes.
• Patient Portal: Enable patients to review their medical history, test results and treatment plans. Let them schedule appointments, request prescription refills and send messages to their health care team. Allow clients to make payments via debit/credit cards or online wallets.
• Finance Management: Process insurance claims, manage patient billing and track payments. Access financial data and reports to gain insights into your practice’s financial performance, including growth and sustainability metrics.

Limitations

• Unintuitive reporting and analytics feature.
• Limited modules for small-scale practices.
• Significant implementation costs.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Consolidated Schedule Snapshot — Not Supported
• Chronograph — Not Supported
• Mobile Push Notifications — Not Supported
• Price Estimator — Supported With Partner Integrations
• Patient Education — Supported With Partner Integrations

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DrChrono: Best for Notes and Templates

DrChrono is an integrated solution that offers comprehensive support to practices of all sizes, enabling greater efficiency in health care operations. With the flexibility of mobile devices and iPad accessibility, providers can conveniently edit and update patient records from any location.

It offers various automation features, such as e-prescribing, patient portals, medical billing and charting.

DrChrono’s electronic documentation module lets you create patient registration forms, treatment notes and more. Source

Highest Rated Modules According to Our Data

• Notes and Templates — 100
• Electronic Prescriptions — 97
• Clinical Workflows Management — 97
• Medical Billing — 95
• Platform Capabilities — 94

Top Benefits

• Improve Staff Coordination: Scheduling, appointment management and communication modules help your employees avoid scheduling conflicts, keeping everyone on the same page.
• Simplify Record-Keeping: Digitize and centralize patient records to reduce paperwork burden and minimize manual entry errors. Access customizable templates to capture and store data in a standardized format.
• Boost Profitability: Generate and submit insurance claims electronically, track claim statuses, and process payments efficiently, reducing claim denials and accelerating revenue collection. Gain insights into appointment scheduling, patient flow and provider performance to optimize resource allocation.

Primary Features

• Claims Management: Electronically create and submit claims to insurance companies, reducing manual paperwork and mailing needs. Monitor processed, pending and denied claims to make corrections and ensure timely reimbursement.
• E-Prescribing: Access a comprehensive database of medications, including dosages, potential interactions and formularies. Integrate with pharmacies to send prescriptions directly to a patient’s chosen pharmacy, speeding up the prescription fulfillment process and enhancing patient convenience.
• Telemedicine: Conduct virtual patient appointments using internet-enabled devices from remote locations. Discuss diagnoses, treatment plans and other sensitive medical information via HIPAA-compliant communication tools.

Limitations

• Lacks customization options.
• Ineffective customer support.
• Occasional system downtimes.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Ad-Hoc Reporting — Not Supported
• Auto-Schedule Reports — Not Supported
• Curate Data Stories — Not Supported
• Screen Sharing — Not Supported
• Medication History — Supported With Partner Integrations

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EpicCare: Best for Electronic Prescriptions

EpicCare is an automation solution that helps practices centralize patient records and optimize daily workflows. It places patient-centric care at the forefront and helps staff alleviate workload by enabling patients to independently schedule and cancel appointments.

Use EpicCare’s flowsheets to create, edit and view patient files. Source

Highest Rated Modules According to Our Data

• Clinical Workflows Management — 100
• Electronic Prescriptions — 100
• Medical Billing — 100
• Notes and Templates — 97
• Clinical Charts — 95

Top Benefits

• Save Time: Quickly access patient records, update information and communicate with colleagues, all in one central system — spend less time searching information and more time dedicated to patient care.
• Reduce Errors: Enter patient data accurately and securely, minimizing the risk of transcription errors or misplaced files. Alerts and reminders also keep you on track, ensuring that crucial information doesn’t fall through the cracks.
• Improve Patient Experience: Access patients’ medical histories and preferences to provide personalized care, leading to positive patient experiences.

Primary Features

• Revenue Cycle Management: Claims submission, payment tracking, denial management and financial reporting capabilities help you maintain a steady and organized cash flow.
• Telehealth: Conduct virtual appointments and consultations with patients, facilitating real-time interactions without the need for physical presence.
• Patient Portal: Enable patients to access their medical records, schedule appointments and communicate with your practice from within the platform. Clients can also pay bills via online payment gateways.

Limitations

• Complex data sharing procedures due to limited ecosystem.
• High implementation and maintenance costs.
• Time-consuming and costly user training.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Auto-Schedule Reports — Not Supported
• Screen Sharing— Not Supported
• Speech-to-Text Dictation — Not Supported
• Custom Fields — Not Supported
• Patient Broadcasts — Supported With Partner Integrations

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eClinicalWorks: Best for Managing Clinical Workflows

eClinicalWorks is a digital platform that automates routine tasks via electronic tools, including a patient scheduling system, e-prescribing module, medical billing tool and more. It streamlines clinical workflows through customizable templates and user-friendly dashboards.

The solution’s real-time monitoring capabilities provide valuable insights into both employee performance and patient health statuses.

eClinicalWorks’ tracking board lets you check patients’ health statuses. Source

Highest Rated Modules According to Our Data

• Clinical Workflows Management — 100
• Medical Billing — 96
• Patient Engagement — 94
• Platform Capabilities — 94
• Mobile EHR — 90

Top Benefits

• Increase Employee Productivity: Automate various administrative tasks, such as appointment scheduling, billing and patient registration, enabling staff to focus on patient care.
• Enhance Information Security: Grant role-based access to employees to protect confidential information. Maintain detailed logs of who accessed patient records and when to actively monitor and track any authorized suspicious activities.
• Improve Patient Satisfaction: Enable clients to communicate with their doctors, ask questions, and request prescription refills or referrals, improving patient-provider interactions and ensuring timely responses to patient inquiries.

Primary Features

• Appointment Scheduling: Enable patients to schedule appointments online, simplifying finding and booking available time slots and reducing the hassle of phone calls and wait times.
• Revenue Cycle Management: Allocate and manage claims inventory and accounts receivable (A/R) processes via work queue dashboards. Send electronic surveys to patients for feedback on the financial aspects of your practice, enabling continuous improvement.
• Telemedicine: Enable doctors to engage in discussions about lab results, X-rays, and medications with patients using screen sharing capabilities. Use wearable devices’ data to provide high-quality clinical care during virtual visits using the healow app.

Limitations

• Limited personalization capabilities.
• Challenging learning curve.
• Frequent downtimes.

Features Not Fully Supported According to Our Data

• Natural Language Search — Not Supported
• Auto Save — Not Supported
• Branding— Not Supported
• Patient Education — Supported With Partner Integrations
• Eligibility Checks — Supported With Partner Integrations

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FAQs

Can web-based EHR software integrate with other health care systems and applications?

Yes, web-based EHR solutions generally offer integrations for various health care systems and applications, enhancing interoperability and data exchange for comprehensive patient care. Integrations foster efficiency and facilitate a holistic approach to practice management.

Check with vendors to see what specific integrations they offer or if you can build your own through API access.

Want to learn more about EHR integration? Our article — EHR Integration: The Comprehensive Guide — has all the details you need.

What are the upcoming trends in web-based EHR/EMR software?

Cloud EMR/EHR software is marked by emerging trends like AI-driven clinical insights, telehealth integration and enhanced patient engagement features. These advancements are shaping the future of electronic health records with a focus on improved health care delivery and patient outcomes.

Read about the upcoming EHR/EMR trends in our article — Future of EHR/EMR.

What are the regulatory requirements for EHR adoption?

EHR adoption is subject to regulatory requirements such as HIPAA compliance for patient data protection and meeting meaningful use criteria to qualify for government incentives, like the Medicaid and Medicare EHR Incentive Programs.

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Next Steps

No two web-based EMR solutions will be exactly alike, so it’s important to have a good understanding of which tools you will and won’t need. Many of these solutions can be geared toward a specific facility type, so it’s crucial to make sure the solution you choose is best suited for your organization.

Need help selecting the right platform? Use our free, interactive comparison report to evaluate multiple platforms and learn about their functional requirements in detail. Good luck!

Still have questions about web-based EHR software? Does your health facility use a cloud EMR? If so, what do you like/dislike about it? Let us know in the comments.