What Is EMR? Everything You Need To Know About Electronic Medical Records

One of the growing pains of an aesthetic spa is finding a documentation system that works best for the clinic. With multiple patients, services, and products to keep track of, paper documentation isn’t always the best route. But even the most advanced medspas with the latest laser equipment don’t always have the most efficient and up-to-date documentation system. This can all change with an EMR. 

So what is an EMR? An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of the usual information you’d see in a medical chart. This includes lab results, previous physician notes, history of medications, medical history, past diagnosis, as well as records like immunization dates. 

For med spas, this means having the ability to track your patient’s last booked appointment to give them a better level of care. With Calysta, you’ll be able to do that, and so much more. 

Why Healthcare Providers Need To Adapt EMR Systems

In both medical and aesthetic clinics, EMRs are a wonderful tool that can improve a patient’s quality of care. In a 2015 study, researchers found that the use of EMR has had a positive effect on patient care and has improved the work of family physicians. A patient’s medical history is where treatment plans begin; with EMR, implementation of the right level of care can be ensured, regardless of who is in charge of the patient. 

In this particular study, physicians cited things like the EMR’s ability to visualize vitalis in graphs, provide alerts and reminders, and access to lab and test data to be among the most useful benefits of electronic medical records. 

Patients who see different physicians can benefit from a more consistent level of care from the physician without any of their medical history getting lost in translation. For physicians, this means less burden with having to remember every single detail for multiple patients, and a much smoother workflow for all health care providers involved. 

What’s the difference between EMR systems and EHR software? 

An EHR (electronic health record) is like an EMR but on a broader scale. This gives physicians a holistic understanding of the patient’s medical records involving a full history of medications, test results, and past operations. 

Where EMRs are used exclusively by one clinic or practice, the EHR is shared from one hospital to another, giving other doctors access to patient information and past treatment plans, whether patients are seeing specialists or family physicians. 

EMRs are a fantastic tool for clinics and hospitals looking to improve their documentation system. Instead of keeping a paper record of patient data, EMRs improve the overall efficiency of healthcare workers and make data more accessible to the user. 

How EMR Can Benefit Your Aesthetic Clinic 

EMRs are the golden standard for patient documentation and are a considerable improvement on any clinic’s functionality, including aesthetic clinics. 

In aesthetic clinics and med spas, a single patient alone can come in for multiple procedures, some of which need to be booked optimally to give the best results. With an EMR, being able to reliably track your patient’s service history becomes possible. Fillers, lasers, and body contouring services are conveniently registered on the platform, leaving guesswork out of the equation. 

This is especially helpful for clinics with rotating aestheticians. One glance at the EMR allows any of your professionals to perform CoolSculpting or microneedling with confidence, knowing they have a full understanding of the patient’s medical and service history. 

More importantly, having an EMR just makes your clinic smarter. With the ability to send digital consents and send text messages, you can radically improve the level of service your patients get and truly elevate their medspa experience. After all, you’re already offering the best service in town; why not improve the way you interact with patients and store their information? 

EMR also goes beyond documentation. Amazing features can even improve your clinic’s no-show rate and increase successful conversations over mail or text. 

Intro To Calysta: The Features of Our EMR Platform

Calysta is an innovative EMR tool built specifically for aesthetic spas. Developed by Dr. Hardik Soni of Ethos Spa in New Jersey and the unrivaled NJ Center for CoolSculpting, this is a tool designed from scratch for aestheticians, by aestheticians.

Our HIPAA compliant platform boasts features that allow clinics and practices to efficiently scale and provide the best level of care for their patients. This plug and play software can be operated by clinics without an IT team, offering intuitive navigation for your team. 

Here are our top features: 

1. Customizable Note Templates

Save time with documentation by improving the way you take notes for your patients. Customizable forms allow you to create reusable templates for just about any procedure. From laser procedures to microneedling to injectables, you can now create note forms in just a click of a button. These forms will be stored on the cloud and can be used whenever you have an appointment with a patient. 

2. Online Booking and Appointments 

Calysta’s online booking feature ensures that your team never misses an appointment. Syncing your clinic’s day-to-day activities becomes seamless with the online booking feature. With the calendar view, you’ll be able to look at your practice or clinic’s bookings on a weekly and monthly basis. This gives your team insight on the booked aestheticians and doctors that week. 

With a digital record of bookings and appointments, you can effectively remove the risk of double booking and patch up any existing scheduling problems your clinic might be running into. 

3. Scheduling and Reminders

Alongside appointments, your team can set up reminders using Calysta. With just a click of a button, any team member can finalize an aesthetician's appointments that day and even send patients a reminder via text messaging.

4. Zoom Teleconferencing

The integrated Zoom feature is one of the most loved features about Calysta. With this, dermatologists and aestheticians can conduct one-on-one consultation over a secure network. This system allows patients to ask their doctors for concerns regarding their services and consult regarding down time, side effects, and conduct similar non-emergency bookings online.

Teleconferencing is one of biggest trends in the medical and aesthetic industry today. Research shows that having an online video consultation option allows patients to engage more successfully with their provider. With regular, non-hassle contact with your practice, your patients are more likely to visit you again for their next procedure. 

5. Digital Consents

Send out customizable consent forms that can accommodate photos and videos in the click of a button. These consent forms are stored digitally after patients put in their electronic signature. Digital consent forms can make your clinic run more productively by getting the paperwork out of the way before your patients enter your med spa. 

6. Online Payment 

Along with the consent forms, your team can provide a secure online payment option using our integrated checkout option. Patients can pay your clinic using major credit cards right from the comfort of their own homes. Calysta keeps track of successful payments for you for easy accounting. 

7. File and Photo Storage 

Track your patient’s progress with the online file and photo storage. This system not only stores your patient’s medical history but also before and after pictures for their procedures. This solution is a fantastic way to keep up with your patient’s needs and wishes, and also allows you to show their improvements over the course of working with you. 

Benefits of Using EMR In Your Aesthetic Clinic

On top of improved documentation, EMR systems can help give your clinic the extra edge it needs to scale and grow. 

• Improved conversion: with the online payment option and the ability to send consent forms electronically, patients can make decisions on the spot instead of having to visit your clinic first before successfully booking an appointment. This increases the rate of successful transactions for your clinic. 
• Reduce no-shows: a seamless calendar system allows your team to remind patients of their appointments easily. With the text messaging feature, you can reduce no shows by giving patients reminders.
• Increased reach: The teleconference feature allows your aestheticians to conduct initial consultations online. Patients that would otherwise find in-person consultations a hassle could get acquainted with your clinic in the comfort of their own home. Instead of relying on in-person meets to convert patients, the online feature greatly improves your team’s access and expands your reach past those who are ready to visit your clinic. 
• Continuity in customer service: Calysta doesn’t just store medical information. Our platform can store receipts, consent forms, and other documentation. This cloud-based knowledge hub allows your team to create personalized experiences for your many customers, regardless of which aestheticians they’re working with that day. 

Schedule A Free Trial Today 

Want to see how your clinic will benefit from Calysta? Schedule a free two-week trial with us. Calysta is an easy plug and play software. After setting up, your clinic can implement the system and see how it performs over the course of two weeks. Get in touch with us to learn more about its features or to schedule your two-week trial.