THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CHOOSING CHIROPRACTIC SOFTWARE
Even if you are a solo practitioner, you have a partner in your practice – your chiropractic software. Just as you would want the best possible human partner to share your practice, it’s also critical to do your homework and take the time to choose the chiropractic software that’s the best fit for your practice. Good chiropractic software makes your job and your staff’s tasks much easier and puts you at a competitive advantage.
CHIROPRACTIC SOFTWARE
The turn-of-the-millennium chiropractic office looked very different from the one in operation now, even if the doctor, staff, and some of the patients are the same. Gone are the days when a chiropractor’s office was full of cabinets storing thousands of documents – any of which could easily get lost through misfiling. The modern chiropractic office relies on software for virtually every aspect of its functioning, which is why choosing the right software is one of the most important business decisions you’ll make.
CHIROPRACTIC PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Chiropractic practice management software helps your practice run more efficiently and benefits the most important people in your practice – your patients. They will appreciate the fact that they can complete necessary paperwork online before coming into the office and the ease of electronically signing-in. Not only does chiropractic practice management save you time and effort, it shows your patients’ that you appreciate the fact that their time is also valuable. You already want to provide the best care for your patients, so take it one step further and provide the most convenient experience you can for them.
Good software keeps your staff happy. No one wants to work on antiquated software or not have faith in the documentation. An investment in top chiropractic software pays off in unexpected ways, such as the ability to retain staff who don’t feel their time is wasted on unproductive tasks. You certainly won’t attract new staff members who are already accustomed to working with top chiropractic software if yours doesn’t measure up.
CHIROPRACTIC BILLING SOFTWARE
If your chiropractic billing software isn’t top notch, you could be losing money – possibly a lot of it. You need chiropractic billing software that is integrated with your chiropractic management software and work with a clearinghouse to automatically posts payments and submit claims. The seamless integration reduces the errors inherent in manual entries and provides you with a system that allows you to be paid promptly. Even better, you can check on your revenue status instantly, ensuring you’re not missing out on money you earned for services provided. Track your end-of-day totals and your activities. You can also take advantage of your preferred partnerships and enjoy even greater integration with third parties for claims submission, payment posting and collections.
While the right information is crucial, human error increases the odds of mistakes. By using a software with automatic alerts at patient check-in or check-out, your employees will be notified about a patient’s changing insurance authorizations.
CHIROPRACTIC EHR SOFTWARE
Selecting your chiropractic EHR software is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make for your practice. When deciding on the right chiropractic EHR software, put together a list of what you absolutely require in such a system. Any software that doesn’t meet every specific need is software you can avoid considering. You also want to ensure that such software is certified complete by the Office of the National Coordinator-Authorized Testing and Certification Body, or ONC-ATCB. Software without such certification does not achieve the meaningful use measures required by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Is your current chiropractic software inefficient? The answer is “yes” if you experience any of the following:
Large number of rejected claims
Large amounts in accounts receivable
Finishing documentation takes considerable time
Data requires more than one entry
Low patient care compliance
Manual credit card processing
Manual inventory management
Handwritten SOAP notes
These are all red flags indicating your practice is operating in less than optimal conditions, and your software is the primary culprit.
Ideally, your chiropractic EHR software should offer everything you need in one fully integrated package.
For efficiency and ease of use, your current chiropractic software should have the following advantages:
Complete suite of iPad applications for patients, providers and front desk staff
Self check-in for patients via barcode, swipe card, fingerprint or unique number
Linking patient accounts for families
Online patient scheduling
No double entry for patient data – the information flows seamlessly through the system
Compliant SOAP notes in seconds
Inventory management
Instant messaging for providers and staff
Case type specific documentation
Technique specific macros
Recurring payment plans
Built-in outcome assessments
80 advanced provider, patient and financial reports
Online training videos and other resources
One-on-one personalized training
While all of these features are important, perhaps the one that strikes providers immediately is that all the information you need about a patient during a visit appears on one screen. It’s all there – SOAP notes, insurance information, chiropractic diagnosis codes and charges, as well as instant alerts.
If your chiropractic EHR software doesn’t provide all of these features, you should seriously consider replacing it with a state-of-the-art version. You want a vendor who automatically updates software and keeps you compliant when regulatory changes occur.
Chiropractic EHR software with top security in place can help you avoid audits or fines. If you do happen to be audited, it’s vital that your notes are compliant with all third-party insurers. Integrated chiropractic EHR software creates a compliant note, making a potential audit less concerning because you trust your software.
It does take time to install and learn how to use a new chiropractic EHR software. Look for software that’s intuitive. When software is designed for a fast and effective learning curve and transition, your staff will pick it up quickly and you’ll be surprised how soon the workflow becomes more efficient. You want a software that grows with your staff and practice.
MOBILITY AND NATIVE IPAD USAGE
Allow your staff to quickly access and interact with all the data in your chiropractic EHR database with mobile apps or native iPads. Employees can interact across various platforms, making life easier for your staff. There’s no need for your staff to stay stuck behind a desk to keep up with the demands of your busy office. It enables your employees to save time, and that time can be spent on patient care rather than paperwork or other administrative overhead.
For patients, using a mobile form app allows them to sign in and complete their information and updates while seated in your waiting room. As the provider, you can view patient forms and other documentation anywhere you have a wi-fi connection.
There’s another factor to keep in mind. Good staff wants to work for a state-of-the-art practice, and that means using the top chiropractic software. With mobile apps, your chiropractic assistants can work from home on certain tasks. The flexibility and improved efficiency provided by mobile apps can help keep your talented staff happy and aid in patient and employee retention.
SCHEDULING
Scheduling issues cost your practice money. If you charge $45 per visit, for example, and one patient per day doesn’t show up, that’s a loss of $225 per week or $900 per month. Yes, that’s $10,800 you could lose annually in no-shows alone. Obviously, you prefer billable hours rather than losing out on revenue. Chiropractic scheduling software not only cuts the number of patients who forget appointments dramatically with reminders via text, phone or email, but patients can reply via the messaging app on their phone or tablet. The days of playing phone tag with patients are long gone.
Patient scheduling and patient documentation go hand-in-hand. Good chiropractic software allows your staff to integrate patient data along with scheduling. You should instantly see current appointments, check-in patients, and patients who were already seen that day. You can instantly notify your staff if you require additional time for an appointment and let them know when you want to see a patient again. Being able to conduct all these activities via an app or iPad will make scheduling easier and faster for your patients. With top quality chiropractic software, nothing in your practice should fall through the cracks.
CHIROPRACTIC SOAP NOTES
Apart from your chiropractic care itself, your chiropractic SOAP notes are among the most important aspect of your practice. While that’s true for every patient, it’s especially crucial for those on Medicare. The right documentation is necessary to justify your treatment, your reimbursement and the charges rendered in case you are audited. While audits can cause trepidation in chiropractors, what really spikes fear is the threat of a malpractice lawsuit.
You want a system allowing you to create chiropractic SOAP notes in just seconds, with documentation meeting all legal requirements. Remember that even if you have a cash practice, where insurance isn’t a factor, you still need to document your findings, evaluation, and treatment of each patient during a visit.
We’ve developed compliant documentation that comes pre-loaded in our software. You can easily customize that documentation specifically for your practice.
WHY CHOOSE CHIROTOUCH?
ChiroTouch provides your practice with the solutions necessary for the smooth running of your business. We’re the leading all-in-one chiropractic EHR solution, integrating scheduling, billing, documentation, patient communication and more. Preloaded forms included in ChiroTouch software include patient intake, patient self-check-in, personal information, and functional outcome assessment forms.
Don’t just take our word for it – schedule a free demo and see for yourself what ChiroTouch offers. Remember that every day you continue to use outdated, inefficient software is another day you are holding your practice back from the success you envision.
Click below and see a demo of how this software is transforming practices around the country.