Practice Management software is a system (complete with practice management software features like EHR integration and medical billing functionality) that helps streamline all the important administrative functions of a medical practice, expedites insurance claims, automates scheduling and insurance verification, and saves time and resources do that medical office staff and medical providers can focus on patient care.
The top practice management software features and functionality of Practice Management software include:
- User-Friendly System Interface
- Electronic Insurance Claims
- Insurance Eligibility Verification
- Coding Converter
- Scheduling Tools (Patient and Staff)
- Integrated EHR
- Reporting and Analytics
- Customization Options
- Secure Mobile Access
- Revenue Cycle Management (RCM)
- Two-Way Communication with Patients and Staff
- Customer Support
There are many Practice Management software features and solutions available on the market. Many are customizable to the intricacies of different medical practices while others offer specialized tools and features dedicated to a particular type of mental or physical care.
The benefits of Practice Management software features are:
- Minimize the time spent in managing patient records and charts.
- Increase the security, reliability, and accuracy of patient records and information.
- Improve patient data accessibility with easy-to-use records, charts, and information whenever needed during the course of a patient’s care.
- Eliminate, or drastically reduce, manual data entry to minimize mistakes due to human error.
- Reduce payment delays: the solution will check that all services and procedures are billed, minimize claim errors, and maintain an electronic record of bills and their lifecycles.
- Spend less time collecting bills, and more time helping patients.
- Better handle coverage and reimbursement issues.
- Ensure compliance with government and industry regulations (and avoid hefty fines).
- Improve the quality of patient-physician interactions to boost patient loyalty.
- Streamline administration and management processes and reduce employee turnover.
- Run the practice more efficiently.
Historically, medical practice software fell into a few different categories: Practice Management, Electronic Health Records (EHR), and Medical Billing Software. While many software vendors still offer practice management software features and point solutions that practices can implement separately and integrate into all their other systems, there’s been a shift toward all-in-one solutions with comprehensive practice management software features. Many practices, even small ones, are choosing to implement software systems that offer all the tools they need for administration, billing, and secure electronic health records storage.
Due to the advent of cloud-based practice management software features, smaller practices can now afford to implement tools that they would have had to wait to use in the past. Cloud systems are more affordable and make compliance easier since they’re designed to all the regulations in the industry (and updated regularly at no cost to your practice outside of your monthly fee for using the software).
As a result, most of the leading Practice Management software features and vendors now offer completely integrated software systems that include tools for practice management, secure and compliant health record storage, and billing all in one easily accessible system. Depending on the size and needs of your practice, this may be the best solution overall for most practices, but it’s best to understand exactly what is offered in the solution you choose.