Referral Management Software Vs EHR Rollouts

Referral Management is quite a laborious process. For an enterprise hospital, managing referrals is even more tedious than a Community Clinic. These large multi-specialty set-ups are formed by joint ventures or mergers or acquisitions. The bigger the network, the more complex is the enterprise medical referral management. EHR/EMR implementation and maintenance is the biggest challenge of all.

Now, what is an EHR/EMR? And why is managing referrals through EHR/EMR system a huge problem?

Electronic Health Records

Electronic Health Records (EHR) represent the patient’s chart data in digitized forms. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. An EHR has the patient’s clinical data including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports over a period of time.

Pros of Electronic Health Records

  • Financial Incentives – Medical providers who convert patient records into electronic ones get financial incentives from CMS.
  • Speedy process – With an EHR system, doctors can immediately place orders for imaging or laboratory work. This reduces the chance of an error occurring because the handwriting of the doctor is difficult to decipher.
  • Unlimited access to medical records – With the help of a patient portal connected to the EHR system, both patient and provider can access medical records very easily.

Impacts of EHR on the existing referral workflow

  • Easy management of patient data – As mentioned earlier, Electronic Health Records (EHR) are digitized forms of patient’s chart data. It helps is managing all patient-related information like medications, vitals, diagnostic reports, medical history, etc.
  • e-messaging between providers – In order to attest referral information, telephone tag between providers is common. It is a time-consuming process. With EHR software, physicians can e-message across practices. One situation that benefits in particular from e-messaging is referrals. Rather than playing telephone tag to get an appointment scheduled, the physician electronically sends a message to schedule the appointment.

Patient Referral Management Software

Large Enterprise hospitals have implemented an EHR/EMR system because it helps them manage their patient data securely. Providers face difficulties in managing paper-based patient records. So EHR implementation is indeed a boon to them. Yes, indeed EHR/EMRs are doing a great job but are they doing enough for patient referral management?

The obvious question now will be  “Why HealthViewX?”.

  • Inbound and Outbound Referrals – HealthViewX Referral Management Solution can integrate with both the receiving and referring end. For inbound referrals, it helps in channelizing various sources into one single queue. In case of outbound referrals, it facilitates integration with the existing system to read the patient data and send out referrals.
  • Referral Timeline – Any referral has a timeline, to capture the progress of the referral. It is common to the referring and receiving provider. A referral will be mapped to a status which helps in tracking it better. For e.g. – If a patient does not show up for the appointment, the status of the referral can be changed to no-show and an appropriate reason can also be given. With the help of a referral timeline, the providers can always be aware of what is going on with the referral.
  • Workflow and Task Management – A workflow can be defined on how the referral flow must be(business rules). Tasks can be created to manage referrals by assigning it to the respective person.
  • Improved communication – HealthViewX Referral Management Solution supports messaging and calling features for the referring and the receiving providers to stay connected.
  • Data Management – The solution is HIPAA compliant and enables secure data exchange of all patient-related documents.
  • Seamless Integration – The solution can seamlessly integrate with any EMR/EHR/RIS or Third Party application thus providing minimal disruption in the existing referral flow.
  • Referral Data Consolidation – The consolidated data regarding the referrals and the referral history of any patient can be printed as a hard copy at any time in pdf/excel.
  • Smart Search – HealthViewX Referral Management solution has a smart search facility that helps in finding the right provider for the treatment required.
  • Referral Data Analytics – Referral data-centric dashboard gives clear figures regarding the number of referrals flowing in and out, a number of referrals in various status, patient follow-ups, etc.

HealthViewX Referral Management solution helps in building a secure referral network in no time. Our expert team will guide you in changing to a Patient Referral Management Software with minimal effort. Schedule a demo with us to know more about our solution. Schedule a demo with us to learn more.