Thanks to the incentives offered through the meaningful use program, many dentists have accelerated their schedule for transitioning to EDR systems. Still many practices are unclear about the benefits of becoming meaningful use certified beyond the incentive money itself.
Meaningful use certification bestows many advantages on a practice:
1. Maintain privacy and security of patient records
Certified electronic dental record (EDR) software passes stringent qualifications to safeguard the security and privacy of electronic records. Such enhanced security features can continue to serve your clinic long after the meaningful use program ends. Healthcare records are increasingly becoming a target for hackers and identity thieves and such protection can only help since there will be more data stored on computers or in the cloud going forward.
2. Ability to share health information with others
Certified EDR software has to implement interoperability which is one of the conditions for certification. This means that data in such systems is easily transferable when required for example while sending patient information to a specialist or for recording patients in a state or federal registry. Not only does this eliminate the time spent in mailing paper records back and forth, it also reduces the risk of losing files and prescription errors due to illegible or hurriedly written notes.
3. Make your processes more efficient
Many dental professionals spent a lot of time in managing aspects of their practice not directly related to patient health such as verifying billing and coding of claims, clarifying prescriptions with pharmacists or updating staff duties. Certified EDR software makes all of these processes more efficient and can greatly improve the capacity of your practice to offer better care for patients. E-prescribing, automated billing and coding as well as the ability to store drug and allergy lists will be even more invaluable in the future to manage increased patient load.
4. Improved patient and public health
All EDR software that has passed MU certification will have features such as automated reminders for preventive tests as well as management of chronic diseases, improved portals for self-management by patients, etc. Such tools can help you engage patients and their families in taking care of their oral health. Having access to such records in electronic form also enables federal and state agencies to better coordinate disease control and emergency response measures.
Dovetail is a 2014 ONC certified software and incorporates many tools which enhance decision-making support for dental practices. All your data is stored on secure HIPAA compliant servers, so you never have to worry about security breaches or the privacy of your patient records. Learn more about Dovetail and Meaningful Use at www.dovetail.co/plus/ehr-incentive-program.
