How Does an EHR Help Save Money for Senior Living Communities?

Electronic health record software helps healthcare providers supporting senior living communities maintain resident health records while automating their clinical workflows. While most people think of an EHR as simply being a digital version of what may have once been a paper version of a resident’s care and medical history, the software actually has several purposes. 

EHR software is interactive and maintains all aspects of the resident's health information in one place. You can access the resident's medical records (including their history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization records, and more) as a series of electronic health records. On top of that, the software is intraoperative, letting medical providers track resident progress as they move between healthcare providers and specialists within a healthcare system. 

Senior living communities use EHR software to obtain real-time updates on their residents. This is vital, as having access to the most current, accurate medical information is needed to make medical decisions in the best interests of the individual. EHR software helps reduce the risk of errors, which protects senior residents and helps them receive more appropriate care.

This type of software can also help with other tasks such as scheduling appointments with residents, prioritizing tasks, rooming residents, and more. If this seems overwhelming, rest assured that Eldermark offers training in EHR software to help you get started.

Ways EHR Software Helps You Save Money

Today, 810,000 Americans live in assisted-living communities, and seven out of 10 will need assisted-living care at some point in their lifetimes. EHR systems can help keep all of those residents' records organized, though a good system comes at a cost. Still, the larger upfront payment for this kind of system should be seen as a cost-saving method in the long run. The total cost is outweighed by savings in other areas of business. 

How does EHR software reduce costs?

1. By reducing medical errors
2. By reducing medication errors
3. By integrating billing tasks
4. By improving coordination of resident care
5. By working as a marketing tool
6. By giving providers opportunities to share information and collaborate

Here are some of the things you should know if you plan to implement an EHR software system such as Eldermark: 

Reduced Medical Errors

Using EHR software helps you reduce medical errors that could result in painful, potentially deadly situations by making important data easily accessible as an electronic medical record (EMR). EHR software contains a senior living resident's:

• Medical history
• Medication lists
• Treatment plans
• Immunization dates
• Radiology images
• Test results
• Laboratory results
• Allergy information

Many other pieces of information are also included. Thanks to the organization of medical information within the digital chart, it's much simpler to find out details about the resident and to make evidence-based decisions about their care. 

Moreover, all clinicians with access to a senior living facility’s system can see the same records, which increases the likelihood of well-rounded, supportive resident care while minimizing the risk of errors based on missing information or details. 

Reduced Medication Errors

Medications are tracked through EHR software. EHR software may use artificial intelligence to alert providers of medication interactions or problems with specific medications based on the resident's history, such as allergies to specific ingredients. This decision support cuts down on potentially harmful errors.

E-prescribing through the EHR system also reduces errors by ensuring pharmacists have the correct prescription and don't give out the wrong prescription or incorrect dosage to a resident. The use of computer technology to prescribe medications can decrease serious medication errors by around 55 to 86% according to some studies. 

Integrated Billing

Integrated billing is one important way to lower costs with EHR systems. Integrated billing helps by:

• Reducing missed revenue 
• Improving documentation for better reimbursement of billed services
• Reducing staffing costs 
• Reducing the risk of human error
• Improving efficiency and workflows to increase the volume of resident appointments

Integrated billing helps improve your senior living facility: You can seek payment, track the progress of payment, and do more to keep your operation profitable.

Improved Coordination

EHR software helps healthcare communities work more efficiently and as part of a broader, more coordinated effort. Electronically sharing data between providers and healthcare organizations is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than using a standard paper format. 

EHRs promote coordination of care by allowing for real-time documentation. resident information is input, and it's accessible right away. Additionally, electronic documentation encourages data accuracy — since multiple providers can see the data, it's easier to correct errors or duplicate entries in less time. 

Using electronic health record software also helps speed up the referral process, so residents get appointments with the people they need to see sooner. Rather than waiting for an email, fax, or letter to reach another office, you can send and receive an electronic record near instantaneously. 

For example, if a resident needs a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, the referral for that scan will reach the facility within minutes of being created by the provider. This allows for improved resident care, promotes continuity of care, and reduces the likelihood of delays leading to resident injuries or death.

Marketing

One aspect of an EHR system that people don't always consider is the potential to use it for marketing. Improving resident care within your senior living facility helps promote your services through word-of-mouth marketing from happy customers, both residents and their family members alike. Name recognition, combined with your service's branding, can increase your opportunity to obtain a greater portion of the local market share. 

Additionally, working with a balanced EHR solution is a great marketing tool to bring in the best and brightest physicians to work with your senior living community. Recruitment efforts are simpler when you can show that you have tools in place to prevent or minimize the risk of errors, improve collaboration, and integrate billing needs. With the right policies put in place with your EHR, you may find that physician referrals become more common thanks to happy staff members. Eldermark does all of these things for you, so you can make the most of marketing with your EHR system.

Collaboration and Information Sharing

Coordination of care is the single most important part of a resident's care when they are moving between providers and the most meaningful use of EHR software. When there is no coordinated effort, it's much easier to misdiagnose a resident or make errors that result in injuries. In a senior living environment, a lack of collaboration can lead to particularly devastating consequences. 

In contrast, an EHR reduces the likelihood of injuries and delays in treatment that could put seniors at risk of serious illnesses or worse. Data is easily accessible from multiple locations, allowing doctors, nurses, specialists, and others to work together to figure out what a resident may benefit from in the course of their treatment plan. They see real-time updates on the resident's care, so they can see what does or does not work. They also get a more comprehensive view of the resident's care, which helps facilitate improved resident care and safety overall. 

With this improved coordination between providers and organizations, residents receive better, more well-rounded care. This minimizes the risk of medical errors and helps keep residents returning due to great service.

Build a Better Healthcare System With Eldermark

At Eldermark, we focus on creating the right software for senior living support within a medical practice, so you can serve all demographics and see substantial cost savings. We believe that EHR adoption has financial benefits and is an important record system to use to improve public health services. 

For example, health information technology such as EHR systems has interoperability to help small practices, primary care physicians, and other healthcare professionals with decision-making, so they can come up with treatment plans and medical care services based on resident needs. 

So, whether you work with Medicaid, Medicare, or a private pay option, electronic medical records will help you improve the quality of care and provide good clinical information for all regulatory purposes. Track internal incentives, healthcare costs, incentive payments, and more for a cost-effective approach to managing your facility.

Our data-driven solutions help you improve occupancy, service, management, and operations, so learn more with us here at Eldermark.