EMR System: Custom Development

Want to learn about EMR and MVP? See how you can develop your EMR system and what things you should be on the lookout for. Learn how you can make your EMR system stand out from the rest and attract users. See what features your EMR system should have and how it will affect the cost. Learn how you can calculate the final product price with a few simple steps. If you want to read more useful articles then check out our page. And to see useful videos, check out our youtube channel.

What is an EMR system?

The EMR stands for “Electronic Medical Record” and as the name suggests we use it to store medical records. Under EMR we can record, store, maintain, and provide the patient’s information. The information is in the form of test results, medical history, doctor’s notes, and allergies. This information is vital for the doctor to treat you and recommend correct medication. Without this information available to the doctor, patients’ lives would be in danger.

Before the introduction of EMR, doctors used to write down notes about patients on paper and maintain physical files. This would not allow other hospitals to access that data in case of any emergency. And there would be a delay before a doctor can administer you drugs. This delay can be life-threatening, this is why EMRs are so important.

Nowadays, all the patient’s data is stored in an EMR with the correct structure so anyone could read and understand it. Charts are also used to make it easier for the doctor to diagnose you if you have any medical condition. 

However, doctors are not on the same page about the introduction of the EMR system. Doctors agree that EMR systems are necessary to treat their patients correctly and safely. But the inconvenience, lack of complete data, hard to use systems are making doctors not accept the EMR. The EMR softwares are not user-friendly which does not help the case. This makes doctors have to deal with multiple versions of EMR which have their interface. This makes using EMR slowly and tedious, this is why doctors are not sure about today’s EMR systems. Click here to see what Forbes says on some EMR systems that physicians have to use.

What are the benefits of the EMR system?

Here we will see the advantages of EMR systems from the point of view of healthcare providers and patients. You can skip this section if you want since we have covered the basics in the previous section.

Benefits for healthcare providers:

1. Data can be updated easily and hospitals keep patients’ data up to date.
2. EMR enables healthcare providers to group different patients with similar medical histories.
3. The data can be searched through quickly and have records of drugs used by the patient.
4. Unlike handwritten notes, there are no changes of error which makes it a lot safer to rely upon.
5. Multiple backups are created, this makes patient data recoverable. Many such features make includes important EMR more desirable than traditional methods.
6. The guidelines are updated regularly for electronic charts used.

Benefits for patients:

1. Patients can schedule appointments from any device and will get reminders on all devices sent from the EHR.
2. Bill generation is also taken care of by EHR, which increases transparency.
3. All of the patient’s notes and prescriptions are stamped and relevant information is shown to the patient.
4. EMR makes sure that only authorized medical personnel can change the patient’s files.
5. Any doctor can access the patient’s report via EMR at any time, making it possible for the patient to get the best treatment.
6. EMR also provides the feature to chat with the healthcare providers, if the patients require it.
7. Insurance cards and bills are handled by the EMR directly and quickly.
8. The patient can feel relaxed about the security and availability of his/her data. Even if the data was removed accidentally, there are multiple copies and backups.

There are a lot more benefits of using the EMR system which depends on one healthcare instruction to another. If you want to know more about the potential advantages then you can search for a doctor’s review for EMR. And many EMR softwares have their features listed on the website.

What is required to create an EMR/EHR system?

In this section, we will just brush the topic since the requirements will vary from time to time. In the next section, we have converted the list of features that your EMR system should have.

The first thing which we should start with is the core platform. When we are creating our EMR system, we should check what guidelines need to be followed. These guidelines will vary from country to country, but generally, HIPAA guidelines need to be followed. HIPAA stands for “Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act”, click here to check the CDC website to know more.

What features my EMR should have?

These features are not unique nor cover all the features an EMR should have. Here we have covered just the basics and critical features. If you are designing your own EMR, then see the next section to know what you should do.

The following are the critical features/aspects of any EMR system for healthcare providers:

1. Patient Page: This is the page where all of the patient’s personal data is stored. This data include current medications, age, gender, address, allergies, and other imporant medical information.

2. Medical History: Here the doctors can keep track of the patient’s medical history. Unlike the patient page, here all the past used medication is included. This increases the chances of the doctor making the right call which will affect the patient’s treatment.

3. E-prescriptions: Patient can’t keep track of their prescriptions which make doctors work hard. But with the online prescription tracking can be done easily and without much hassle.

4. Charting: Doctors all around the world feel that fillings charts are very tedious. This problem is solved by the EMR tools. Creating and maintaining charts is very easy with customizable templates. There are other features are also available such as machine learning and voice recognition. Charts can be quickly customized which makes the doctor’s work a lot easier. This reduces the workload of doctors who is already burdened.

5. Lab Integration: With this feature, the workflow can be streamlined with improved interoperability. Doctors can track results and test submitted diagnoses and integrate all the data seamlessly.

6. Reminders: This is a very useful feature for the patients since they will not have to remember when they have their appointment.

7. Patient Portal: A dedicated patient portal helps users navigate the EMR better. Since many EMR use overly complicated designs which make it harder for patients to use them.

Steps to make your EMR stand out

In this section, we will see looking at what you should do to make your EMR better. Implementing these pointers will have different results for every software. There are more things which you should do but these are the essential features.

Conduct market analysis

This should be obvious if you are developing any commercial product. This analysis consists of coming up with solutions and then taking a review or conducting a survey.

Analyzing other EMR available in the market and seeing what you can do differently to stand out to attract customers. Pick up any 4-6 widely used EMR systems and then start your research.

Create a detailed document that would summarize everything you need in your EMR and contact any vendor. Ask for a demo or prototype so you can have a better idea about what you set out to achieve.

You should focus mainly on addressing issues with the current ERM systems and what your EMR will do differently.

Research pricing and establish the budget for your project

Here you will be focusing on deciding what is your budget and how you can get your EMR completed as soon as possible. Along with the budget, you also need to contact a team of professionals to get accurate costing for the project.

There will be a lot of planning like designing the user interface, generating a list of current trends, high-quality products, help sections, and more.

It is always a good idea to get a consultation by the professionals, here you can talk to doctors and take their input on your EMR.

Start with developing an MVP

The MVP stands for “Minimum Viable Product” and it’s the first step of creating any software. Also, it is important to not develop a finished product in the first development cycle since chances are needed in any software.

The development of the software will also be really expensive, so you should focus on reducing the cost initially. The MVP will provide the following:

1. Feedback from the doctors and patients
2. Opportunity to make any changes in the software
3. Honest criticism will make you fix those issues
4. Any bug can be fixed once it is caught in the MVP
5. MVP can attract investors

How much does it cost to create a custom EMR system?

The cost of the final product depends on multiple factors which can not be predicted before the development starts. But some factors affect the final cost of the EMR more. Here’s a list of all the factors which you should be on a lookout for:

1. Which platform (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux) the software is going to use?
2. Which company will handle the development and the country where the company is based.
3. How many features are going to be present in the EMR?
4. Any third-party SDKs or APIs needed?
5. Compliance with Medicaid standards and Medicare
6. Is there any automation in the software?
7. Where the patient’s data is going to be stored?
8. Is there any kind of machine learning or custom algorithm at work?
9. How many medical devices the EMR will be going to be integrated with.
10. The UI/UX design and who will be the designer

These are some of the factors you should be looking at which making your own EMR. But on average, it’s going to cost you around $90,000 and the cost will increase for every feature you add. The company’s location also plays a huge part since development in the US is expensive. Whereas in countries like India and Bangladesh, the labor cost is very low. Now you are aware of the factors which will affect the price of the final product. You should consult any tech firm or custom EMR development company about estimation and then compare it with other firms.

Summary

In the article, we learned what is an EMR system and why it is needed in the healthcare section. If you want to develop your EMR system then research is the most important thing in which you should invest time. Along with research, making your product out of the competition is also important. Consult with tech firms to get an estimation on the MVP which will make you plan the product accordingly. If you are confused anywhere then drop your query in the comment. We will be more than happy to help our readers out.