Upgrading, replacing or adopting a practice management system can be difficult. Asking the right questions will ensure you get the right system.

By Emily Berry, amednews staff. Posted Nov. 2, 2009.

A good practice management system should be like an oracle for your office. You should be able to ask, “Which patient is coming in next?” or “Who hasn’t paid their bill?” and get the right answer every time. This is true but the software is only as efficient as the employees using it.

Driven by federal incentives to adopt electronic medical record systems, even physicians who are happy with their practice management systems are wondering if it’s time to find new ones packaged with EMRs. The alternative is to pay thousands of dollars to have two vendors’ systems work together — an approach some practices may find worth the cost.  Interfaces are very dangerous so be very judicious about deciding what solution is best for your office.

“The push from the government with the funding that’s out there is driving a lot of energy in this space,” said Jared Peterson, executive vice president for ambulatory research at KLAS Research, a firm based in Orem, Utah, that rates medical software, vendors and medical equipment.

Experts say there’s no right answer on whether to buy an EMR bundled with a new practice management system or to pay to have the two systems interfaced. But there are key considerations.  There is a right answer for each practice but there is not a universal solution.  You have to spend the necessary time in determining, to the best of your ability, what is best for your office.