How Do Electronic Medical Records Save Money?

There are many incentives to adopting electronic medical records (ERMs). From consistency of service to easy diagnosis to instilling improved patient confidence, the improvements an ERM can make on your relationship with your patient and the ability you serve them is pretty straightforward. Health care providers that integrate ERMs typically improve patient compliance and create a more direct and open health care relationship with their patients. 

Despite these patient-centered benefits, decision makers of a healthcare organization will sometimes need a little more convincing to see that electronic health record software, or to a smaller-scale, electronic medical records software are worthy investments. 

So how does EMR/EHR implementation save hospitals, clinics, and similar institutions money? By transitioning from a paper-dependent organization to a digital one, adopters will be able to cut down costs on materials needed for billing, files, and the like.

Ultimately, having EMR software allows hospitals, clinics, and similar facilities to restructure the way they work and reallocate their resources on things that can make a significant improvement on patient care. 

Beyond Health Record: Ways EMRs Help Can Save Costs 

Ultimately, having EMRs allows hospitals, clinics, and similar facilities to restructure the way they work and reallocate their resources on things that can make a significant improvement on care coordination.

1) Improves The Allocation of Staff Resources

Going digital simply eliminates any redundancy in the system. If your clinic is particularly small, hiring extra staff to organize bookings and appointments and keep patient record organized is an extra recurring cost - one that doesn’t make much sense in an increasingly digital world. 

Instead of investing in new machines and products that could bring in new patients to your clinic, scaling is much more difficult when you have to scale your team alongside the volume of your work. 

Luckily, ERMs are very scale-friendly. This simple system may require upfront costs but the return on investment is quite clear in the form of improved patient care, lesser spend on unnecessary personnel. 

Instead of hiring a team or an individual to do what ERMs can do, you can now spend this free budget on improving the quality of your service through training, certifications, and even investing in new machines and technologies. 

2) Expand Office Space 

One key thing that practices often fail to consider is all the freed up space from going digital. To most hospital administrators, the chart room or the clerk’s space just happens to be a permanent fixture in the office. 

Storing patient records digitally can remind admins of how unproductive it truly is to delegate spaces to file cabinets.

With EMRs, unused office spaces can now be transformed into something else: a copy room filled with office supplies and equipment can be turned into an extra examination room or even a lounge for your physicians. This extra square foot can start generating revenue instead of costing you rent. In a cramped medical facility, having that extra bit of space can be allocated for clinician offices, which can improve the mood of medical professionals and health providers. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t just free up office space. It also frees up the mind of burdened healthcare providers, whether it’s an aesthetician juggling 8 Botox patients that day, or a physician running around remembering people’s previous prescriptions. EMRs give adopters a better sense of freedom, both in the physical, literal sense and the mental aspect of it. 

3) Increase Productivity and Appointments 

EMRs allow healthcare providers to be more streamlined with the way they work. With digital records stored online, the following repetitive tasks no longer become a part of the healthcare providers’ routine: 

• Check on latest diagnostic tests and avoid the duplication of tests 
• Remember drug interactions and allergic reactions 
• Take note of complex chronic conditions through careful chart logging
• Tracking individual medical history including previous surgeries, comorbidities, risks, and genetic diseases

With an EMR, documenting visits and carrying out repetitive processes like billing and note taking will take a lot less time. This frees up more time, which can easily translate to increased number of booking and appointments. More importantly, it reduces and can even eliminate medical error because overworked healthcare professionals don’t have to juggle multiple tasks, including something as confusing as medical billing. 

Another benefit of adopting EMR technology is that with telehealth integration, medical providers can perform check ups and follow-up visits online. With their electronic medical records stored digitally, patients have the option to opt out of in-person visits and instead focus on getting better at home. Filling out prescriptions, a small but significant task, can be done quickly and efficiently by looking at digital records. 

4) Reduce Office Supply Expenses 

“Small” expenses like paper, ink, and equipment upkeep may not seem like substantial costs but they do recur every single month. These small costs, alongside hiring unnecessary personnel, are just some of the overhead costs clinics and practices can cut off by transitioning to digital storage. 

Electronic medical records can save doctors' offices anywhere from $500 to a few thousand dollars a month just from office supplies alone, not taking into account costs cut from actually saving on hiring an extra pair of hands. 

Will EMRs Benefit Aesthetic Clinics?

Commonly adopted by “essential” and emergency medical providers, electronic medical records and electronic health records are becoming the gold standard in keeping patient records for the typical medical practice. But what place does an EHR system have in an aesthetic clinic?

The aesthetician-designed Calysta Pro EMR system has been designed with aestheticians in mind. Compared to typical EHR software, the Calysta EMR is a simpler, easy-to-navigate version that can be used by cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics to keep health information and patient data safe online. 

As a premier EHR vendor, Calysta understands the nuances between a physician practice and an aesthetic clinic. As such, it is a truly unique health information technology built with robust features to help aesthetic clinics thrive. 

Learn more: What Type of Software Do Med Spas Use?

Calysta EMR Features That Can Help Your Aesthetic Clinic Save On Costs

Beyond financial benefits, the ability of storing medical information through EHR technology allows medspas and clinics to save costs in different ways, including:

• Automatic backups: Data loss and downtime can cost your clinic money if you’re not careful. Calysta is a HIPAA-compliant platform built with automatic backups running in the background. With Calysta, you don’t have to worry about losing any patient information. As a plug and play option, Calysta performs regular backups so you’re sure to have the latest information about your patients ready on the cloud. 
• Touchless payments: Calysta makes payroll and billing simple. Instead of designating this task to a team member or hiring an external bookkeeper, Calysta allows patients to pay directly using the platform when they make an appointment. This helps improve the cash flow in your clinic and increases conversions with the convenience of online payment. 
• Zoom teleconferencing integration: Calysta EMR implements zoom integration to allow your aestheticians to conduct check ups and follow up appointments. With this, your aestheticians can accommodate more patients online and generate more revenue for your practice. 

Schedule Your Free Calysta Trial 

Curious to see how Calysta can increase your conversions and clinic visits? Get in touch with us to schedule a free two week trial and learn more about how EMR technology can cut down costs and save your aesthetic clinic resources.