Ambulatory EHR vs Inpatient EHR: Which one is for your practice?

The growth of EHR systems has well changed the healthcare realm with effective patient record management.

Innovative techs can streamline workflows eliminating time-consuming and obsolete, paper-based processes. The procedures and functions differ for in-patient and out-patient facilities.

Yet, the availability of many EHR software can make choosing an EHR that fits your clinic may seem confusing & out of the question. Knowing the difference between ambulatory EHR & inpatient EHR can help you overcome this confusion.

Know the Treatment Types

You should find and have a thorough knowledge of the type of treatment your clinic provides before choosing the EHR. The choice will depend on whether your clinic provides inpatient or outpatient treatments.

Both types of facilities have their challenges to tackle while adopting EHR. 

Challenges of Inpatient & Outpatient facilities while adopting EHR

• An inpatient facility must have integrations with various departments within one hospital system.
• Meanwhile, with outpatient facilities, patients go to many clinics, labs, and more.
• Outpatient is the most common and preferred method of treatment for many reasons mainly due to lower costs and convenience.

These are some of the reasons why it is necessary that the EHR you choose must fit your clinical requirements. Keep in mind the specific needs, government requirements & treatment types for certification.

Ambulatory EHR vs Inpatient EHR

Ambulatory EHR 

• Ambulatory EHR allows outpatient facilities to document and store health information digitally.
• These documents include any surgery or treatment records that don’t involve hospital admissions. These documents are accessed by health professionals. 
• These are simpler than inpatient EHRs which deal with a complex web of hospital departments.
• These systems are used by physicians to gather detailed & specific information about each patient.
• Allows physicians to track medical records easily and give long-term care.
• Documents include injuries, diagnoses, treatments, prescriptions, etc.
• Streamlines future diagnoses & helps in better decision-making.
• An integrated ambulatory EHR with a patient portal provides access to patients' records in real time.
• Perfect for single practices.

Inpatient EHR

• Inpatient EHR enables hospitals to organize their daily operations and gain efficiency. 
• This is done using many tools like scheduling, billing, e-prescribing, etc.
• Heer the hospital is a group of different departments and systems. 
• The majority of hospitals use inpatient EHR to automate and track admin tasks.
• Inpatient EHRs are now more systematic & advanced and help to link all the internal departments of a hospital together. 
• This avoided paper-based documentation.
• With customization, an inpatient EHR integrates lab, pharmacy, x-ray, and more departments. 
• This allows easy sharing of patient health information with various hospital departments.

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The Criteria for EHR Certification

The criteria for certification of EHRs differ for inpatient and ambulatory facilities.

• Inpatient EHR certification centers on orders and medication management. This includes electronic medication reconciliation and administration records.
• Ambulatory EHR certification demands more patient-oriented abilities. E-prescribing, patient reminders, summaries, etc are some of its few certification requirements.

There are also some similarities between the two types of certifications. They include privacy, security standards, medication, and allergy lists. Certification of both types requires clinical decision support and computerized provider entry (CPOE). The common service they both provide is “health care”.

RELATED: Why Having A Specialty EHR Is An Added Gem For Your Behavioral Health Practice

The Costs of Ambulatory & Inpatient EHRs

Ambulatory EHRs are used by many individual practices and clinics due to their simplicity. It provides users with budget-friendly options. They run on monthly subscriptions. They have comparatively lower start-up costs.

Inpatient EHRs offer extensive options for customization to ease daily workflows. Benefits the users well upon using the system. These extra features make inpatient EHRs a bit more expensive than ambulatory EHRs. These EHRs will be ready to use by the buyers, making the processes faster.

For cost-effectiveness, you can go with a small and more specialized EHR fitting your practice requirements. Opting for cloud-EHR software can get your practice meet future requirements.

EHR Software from Vozo

Vozo Specialty EHR lets you concentrate on your patients and makes valuable time for you to grow your practice and yourself as a specialist. Vozo EHR acts as the backbone for all your specialty needs. We tailor features to correct and speed up your workflow for providing quality care. Whether you’re implementing new software or replacing your current EHR, we have you all covered.

With our pre-defined customizable templates, physicians can view patient records & create comprehensive case notes, and a lot more from a single screen. Vozo RCM solution integrated with EHR & practice management software offers greater efficiency and cost savings across the board. Our specialty-specific tools improve workflow, billing, scheduling, and documentation. Our exclusive features include e-prescribing, security, patient portal, telehealth, lab integration, cloud hosting, etc. We offer the best means of ICD-10 standards which automatically minimizes your administrative work.

“Let’s increase your practice’s productivity, compliance & security with a perfectly fitting EHR”