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Introduction
Practice management software has revolutionized the way technology is used in the healthcare industry. And while for the most part this is fantastic, it can be very overwhelming finding the perfect platform for your business. Don’t worry though, you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, we’ll provide an overview of eClinicalWorks platform, before giving you five other alternative solutions - with information on features, pricing, pros and cons. By the time you’ve finished reading, hopefully you’ll have a better idea about what exactly you should be looking for.
Let’s get started!
What to look for in a practice management system
Before we look at the different practice management platforms, we think we should give a brief overview of the types of things you want to be on the lookout for. While every healthcare business will have their own preferences and needs, the following are some of the most important components of any practice management system:
Compliance
HIPAA compliance is an absolute essential when it comes to practice management software. Before you implement any system into your practice, you need to ensure that they have adequate physical and electronic safeguards in place. Under HIPAA guidelines, you are also required to enter into a BAA (Business Associate Agreement) with any vendor that manages your PHI.
Cloud-Based Software
The implementation of any practice management system is likely going to take time. Your staff will have to learn to navigate the platform and you may have to integrate it with other systems you already have in place. In order to make this process as seamless as possible, we think the best solution is cloud-based software. With these platforms, you don’t have to purchase any new software or hardware and typically there is no installation process.
Scalability
As your healthcare business develops, you want to ensure the practice management system you have in place can accommodate your changing needs. This may mean looking for platforms that offer a range of different pricing plans, or that have robust customization options.
Patient Experience
Although practice management systems are largely targeted towards streamlining the administrative processes for healthcare businesses, you should never overlook the patient experience. The best practice management platforms integrate with features (including client portals and online payment tools) that make accessing healthcare solutions much easier for patients.
What is eClinicalWorks?
eClinicalWorks is a cloud EHR system that offers a robust number of features designed to simplify processes for healthcare practices. Founded in 1999, the platform aims to eliminate unnecessary and time-consuming tasks and instead allow practitioners to focus on doing what they do best: treating patients.
eClinicalWorks separates its platform into four main target areas: reinventing your practice, patient engagement, population health management and revenue cycle management. Within these different sections, eClinicalWorks offers a range of features, including:
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
- Appointment booking, reminders and check-ins
- Online payments
- Telehealth
- Remote patient monitoring
- Patient portal
eClinicalWorks is also HIPAA compliant, ensuring that the data you store on their platform is protected at all times by physical and electronic safeguards.
However, although eClinicalWorks undoubtedly has benefits for healthcare practices, the system isn’t perfect. Let’s take a look at some of their drawbacks:
Data entry takes too much time
Software is often judged by how easy it is to navigate. When it comes to eClinicalWorks, users report that an excessive amount of clicks are required to make even the smallest updates or changes to the system. As a healthcare worker, it’s more than likely you don’t have the time to waste on slow processes. And aren’t EMRs supposed to streamline your work, not make it slower?
Customer support
eClinicalWorks’s customer support is hard to get hold of and not always very helpful. So basically the absolute opposite of what you need customer support to do.
Pricing
eClinicalWorks has 2 main pricing plans:
- EHR only: $449/month per provider
- EHR with Practice Management: $599/month per provider
For that kind of price, you’d hope you’re getting a flawless platform - which we know eClinicalWorks isn’t…
So now you’ve been given a brief insight into eClinicalWorks, let’s take a look at some alternatives.
Top 5 Alternatives to eClinicalWorks
Carepatron
Coming in at number one for our alternative practice management systems is Carepatron. Why, you ask? Well, there are plenty of reasons.
Carepatron offers an all-in-one practice management system that is integrated with robust features. The platform has been developed in collaboration with healthcare providers, ensuring that the right kinds of needs are being met. It takes compliance seriously, and abides by all of HIPAAs regulations, as well as having additional physical and electronic safeguards.
Let’s take a look at where eClinicalWorks is struggling and see how Carepatron compares.
System navigation
Carepatron prioritizes ease of use. This means the system is beautiful, intuitive and very easy to navigate. If you need to input data, or update records, all it takes is a couple of clicks. Additionally, these changes can be made from your mobile device, facilitating accessibility and remote work.
Customer support
Carepatron is known for its fantastic customer support. Offering round-the-clock assistance, Carepatron will ensure that any technological or system issues are resolved as soon as possible.
What other benefits are associated with Carepatron?
Reduce no-shows
No-shows are an unfortunate reality for most, if not all, healthcare businesses. With Carepatron’s automated appointment reminders, your practice can reduce their no-shows by up to 99%, ensuring that your workflow is seamless and your schedule remains uninterrupted.
Assisted medical billing
As I’m sure you know, billing in the healthcare industry is extremely complex. With Carepatron’s medical billing features, this process is both streamlined and simplified. Your patients can make online payments through a secure patient portal and you can submit accurate claims faster, leading to more timely reimbursements.
Telehealth at no additional cost
As technology becomes more and more involved in the healthcare industry, it’s time for practices to look at integrating telehealth solutions. Carepatron integrates these features into their platform with no additional cost. This means you can reach a wider range of clients and provide them with quality healthcare - all from the comfort of your home.
We don’t have time to get every single one of Carepatron’s benefits, so here’s a shortened list of some of their additional features:
- Appointment scheduling and workflow management
- Secure patient portal
- Clinical documentation storage
- Clinical note templates
- Advanced mobile health solutions
Pricing
Carepatron has 3 main pricing plans:
- Starter Plan: Free
- Professional Plan: $12 USD per user/month
- Organizational Plan: $19 USD per user/month
Get started with Carepatron now for free! 🎉
InSync
InSync is another cloud-based practice management system that offers solutions for healthcare businesses looking to streamline administrative and clinical processes. The system strives to help healthcare practices save time by eliminating unnecessary tasks and ensuring both provider and patient needs are met. The platform is integrated with a range of different features, including:
- EHR and EMR
- Telehealth
- Billing software
- Patient portal
- Patient check-in kiosk
InSync Pros
E-prescriptions
InSync is integrated with an e-prescription feature that connects your practice with the specific patient’s pharmacy. This process is entirely HIPAA-compliant and comes with an additional price estimator, ensuring financial transparency for your patients.
InSync Cons
Integration
Although InSync has a number of different features, these don’t always integrate well together. Most practices are looking for an all-in-one platform, which InSync doesn’t provide for very well.
Buggy
InSync users have also reported the platform can be quite buggy. Although any type of technology will inevitably incur issues, you do not want to have to deal with bugs while handling confidential PHI.
Pricing
InSync has a free plan, and their paid plan begins at $59/month.
Simple Practice
Simple Practice is one of the leading practice management systems. It has had a big role to play in revolutionizing how technology is used in healthcare, and should be commended for that. Some of the solutions offered in Simple Practice’s platform include:
- Clinical documentation
- Telehealth features
- Billing assistance
- Client portal
- Mobile solutions
Simple Practice Pros
Telehealth
Simple practice is integrated with effective and high-quality telehealth solutions, making remote care a reality for patients and practitioners.
Intuitive
Simple Practice has created a reasonably intuitive platform, simplifying navigation for its users.
Simple Practice Cons
Pricing tiers
Although pricing tiers generally allow businesses greater flexibility in the specific features they are looking for, this isn’t the case for Simple Practice. Some very essential solutions, including calendar syncing, are only included in the top pricing tier, meaning businesses have to pay more than they should for basic practice management necessities.
Customer Support
Users report difficulties accessing timely customer support, which makes it hard to quickly resolve issues.
Pricing
Simple Practice has three pricing plans:
- Starter: $29/month
- Essential: $69/month
- Plus: $99/month
NextGen Healthcare
NextGen Healthcare’s platform has been developed with a wide range of different healthcare specializations in mind. These include, but are not limited to, physical therapy, dentistry, neurosurgery, optometry, cardiology and behavioral health. To assist with streamlining administrative processes, NextGen is integrated with the following features:
- Analytics
- EHR
- Mobile health
- Revenue cycle management
- Patient engagement
- Coordination of care
NextGen pros
HIPAA-Compliant
NextGen’s platform is entirely HIPAA-compliant, ensuring your ePHI is protected at all times.
Training and support
NextGen has comprehensive training and support available, ensuring their user needs are met at all times.
NextGen cons
Difficult to navigate
User reviews suggest that the platform is quite difficult to navigate. Healthcare practitioners don’t usually have a lot of time, so having to dedicate effort to navigating what should be an intuitive platform can be very frustrating.
Cap on monthly claims
NextGen has a cap on monthly claims that can be submitted depending on the pricing plan of the user. This can force practices to purchase a more comprehensive plan, which may be out of their budget.
Pricing
To find out the exact price for NextGen Healthcare’s system, get in touch with them directly.
TheraNest
TheraNest’s system focuses on mental and behavioral health practitioners, ensuring they have access to resources that allow them to streamline administrative tasks. Integrated with scheduling, clinical note templates, a client portal and online payment options, TheraNest can help improve communication and efficiency.
TheraNest pros
Customer support
TheraNest has fantastic customer support. They take feedback seriously and are available to help users with any issues that may arise.
Intuitive platform
The platform that TheraNest has designed is intuitive and easy to navigate. This makes the implementation process smooth, as new users can quickly adapt to the system.
TheraNest cons
Telehealth features
Although TheraNest offers telehealth features, these aren’t very sophisticated or easy to use. As more and more providers are looking to incorporate remote care, finding good telehealth solutions is often a top priority - and one that TheraNest doesn’t cater well to.
Pricing
TheraNest’s pricing is dependent on what health specialization you work in and the different products you are looking for. Get in touch with the platform directly to receive a quote.
Conclusion
Finding the perfect practice management software for your healthcare business can be hard. You want to ensure you have all the necessary features, the platform is easy to integrate, customer support is available and everything is HIPAA-compliant - and all at an affordable price!
While every healthcare business has its own needs, hopefully this guide has pointed you in the direction of a few possible options that cater to what you’re looking for. Using a good system can help save practices significant amounts of money and time, all while elevating clinical and administrative processes. Just make sure that you spend some time reading reviews and comparisons so you feel confident in your decision - and good luck!
Further Reading:
- Best Power Diary alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Cliniko alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Theranest alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Counsol alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Therapy Notes alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Nookal alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best My Clients Plus alternatives (features and pricing)
- Best Halaxy alternatives (features and pricing)
