About the Author

Sheldon Needle is President of CTSGUIDES.COM, a free web site offering reviews, ratings, tools, and expert advice to help companies select software. Sheldon is a former CFO, consultant and software designer who has published more than 20 guides on software selection.

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Ease of Use is a major factor to keep in mind when choosing medical billing software.

Here are some important considerations regarding ease of use, security, and other factors when comparing medical billing software options:

1. When you start using the medical billing software, moving from one screen or one function to another should be intuitive and make sense to you, the user.  Do transitions from screen to screen proceed logically?
2. Is there a simple graphical interface between different modules of the medical billing software?
3. What about data security and HIPAA compliance?  Is it easy to make backups of your software? Can you password-protect sensitive data from unwanted users?
4. Can the medical billing software track insurance policies and data?
5. Are there customizable templates for standard functions within the medical billing software modules?
6. Can several staff members access the medical billing software program simultaneously?
7. Is there a web-based component to your system, so that users can have  password-protected access to your  system from different locations?
8. Are the templates easy to customize for a specialty practice?  For instance, if yours is a cardiology practice, you will need different types of templates than a dermatology practice: hypertension templates, cardiac cath templates, etc.
9. How easy is it to import data from outside sources, such as HHS and other government agency sites?
10. How easy is it to fill out standard forms?  Are HCFA forms easy to fill out?  What about easy access and analysis of CPT and CDT codes ?
11. Are interfaces with external sources easy to set up from within the billing and scheduling system?
12. How difficult will it be to import data from simple software sources, like Microsoft access spreadsheets (with xls extensions)?
13. How difficult will it be to import data from paper sources?  Is there any OCR facility available for scanned data?
14. Data conversion: how difficult will it be to convert data that is already on some other medical practice or medical billing system (perhaps one that you practice has outgrown)?
15. Does the software allow for multimedia attachments, such as pictures, scanned documents, x-rays, and even voicemails and files?
16. Does the software have a “free-trial” option so that you are not locked in to the system before you have seriously tried it out?
17. What are the training options that come with the software you are considering?  Is there a human tech-support contract option that comes with the software, or is training available only online?  Is there a person that is assigned to your company to provide tech-support?  How expensive is it to buy additional tech support time for you and your staff?

No one likes to think about everything that can go wrong, but you do need to do serious planning so that things will go smoothly with your medical software implementation.  Invest the time in comparing systems up front, so that you will eventually choose a medical billing system to fit the needs of your practice.

The type of EMR and medical software platform that will work best for you depends on the size and complexity of your medical practice or organization.

If you are a smaller practice or a solo practitioner, one of the most daunting aspects of buying and implementing EMR is the price: purchasing, licensing, implementation, and training can cost a true fortune. This outlay can make sense and save money for a large medical organization. If the system is implemented carefully, it will cut the number of man hours you need, perhaps reduce the number of employees, and help your practice comply with government reporting requirements.

However, if you are a solo-practice, or part of a small practice, this financial investment would be overwhelming. But you certainly need to make headway into the world of EMR and medical billing software, if you haven’t already. Is this feasible at a modest price?

The answer is, very feasible indeed, depending on how you make your choices.
There are two basic types of EMR software configurations available: Each software model has its upside and downside.

1. Client/server based software is housed and maintained on your own server.
Most of the large, well known EMR software packages are client/server based. This means that you and the developer – whether you buy the package customized, or whether you provide customization in-house — totally control the environment and can be tailor exactly to your needs. Most of the specialized practice packages are client/server based. Many client/server EMR models are web-enabled, meaning users can connect to their EMR via the internet on a standard web browser from a remote location – but the software will still reside in-house. Web-enabled software packages sometimes offer the option of handling security issues “elsewhere” by offloading the maintenance issues to a third-party host .

If you are not concerned about Stimulus payments, and whether the US government views you as making “meaningful use” of your EMR software, there are inexpensive client/server based options available at more reasonable prices. While these are not the CCHIT certified packages, they may be able to serve your basic EMR needs very well. There is even “open source” EMR software available free of charge, but it will require customization. If you are willing to go with a basic EMR / medical billing software package which performs basic functions reasonably well, and if you are willing to dedicate resources to customization and maintaining system and data security, open source software may work for you.

If you go with an off-brand EMR package, there is training and customer service available. If you decide to go with “open source” software, there is no customer-training or customer service division to call when you are desperate for help. You have to make your own security and backup arrangements, and there is no one to reassure you when there are data problems. If you are technically savvy, you may be able to make these arrangements yourself, but talk to others who have used this software before committing yourself to it!

2. Software as a Service (SAAS) EMR, offers a web-based model.
SAAS software does not live on your computer or server, but in cyberspace. For SAAS EMR software, you the user log onto a website from any internet-accessible computer hosted by a software provider to whom you pay periodic fees.

SAAS EMR can be accessed from anywhere. You do not need a dedicated IT person taking care of your computers, because security, back-ups, and updates are taken care of by the hosting company. Your up-front costs are usually much smaller than they would be for a client/server model since you don’t have to worry about hardware or network infrastructure. Your up-front costs are usually much smaller than they would be for a client/server model since you don’t have to worry about hardware or network infrastructure.

The disadvantages of SAAS EMR are that it may be difficult to configure specifically for your practice – sort of like buying suits off the rack instead of bespoke tailoring. Web-hosted software does not currently afford exact customer-tailored customization, although that will likely change.

Another possible problem: the smaller up-front costs may be deceptive. A host or vendor of SAAS can always up the rates. You don’t own any more of the systems two years into using it than you did on Day One, so you are basically a “renter “and the tax advantages and deductions afforded by a major corporate purchase are not there for you.

In summary, just because you are small does not mean that you cannot have excellent and extremely useful EMR software. But look carefully before you leap.