How We Developed a Scalable EHR Software That is Used By Over 600 Facilities Across The United States
Learn how our healthtech expertise & dedicated efforts played a pivotal role in the development of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Software.
Project Scope
To build a top-notch EHR management software that can effortlessly handle complex medical data. We now provide continuous support for platform maintenance and feature upgradation.
Scale
Over 600 facilities are using their EHR software across 39 states in the US. It currently has over 3000 users.
Inception:
Duration:
Current Status:
Support and Maintenance
Team:
Early Phase –
1 Quality Analyst,
4 Developers,
Current Phase –
1 Quality Analyst,
7 Developers
An Acclaimed Healthcare IT Company in the U.S. Decided to Foray into EHR Market, & Found the Perfect Partner in Digicorp
Due to confidentiality restrictions, we will call the customer a “Company” here. The Company is a pioneer in the electronic receivables management industry. The Company offers radiologists with an electronic billing and receivables management service. Over time they realized that electronic health records (EHR) could complement their technology and thus, started developing their own EHR application.
In 2010, the leadership at the Company reached out to Digicorp through a mutual acquaintance. After jointly discussing their idea of developing a full-fledged outpatient EHR application, the client decided to execute a small pilot with us covering 2-3 modules of the core product.
On delivery of the same, they were immensely satisfied with the work and decided to rope us in for complete, end-to-end development of the product. Thus began our cherished partnership with the Company that has spanned over a decade now, making it our flagship healthcare project.
Laying the Foundation - Establishing a Robust Product Architecture & Meeting the Compliance Requirements:
EHRs or Electronic Health records are integrated patient records that make information securely available to authorized users in real-time. Developing a mega-scale EHR application for the company required us to factor in several critical aspects:
User Categories and Specific Needs
From doctors and patients to pharmacists and diagnosticians, each user needs access to a specialized view of the EHR to cater to their decision-making needs. In Phase I, we set out to develop a small module of the EHR system. We developed a configurable prescription module which helped healthcare organizations to write and send prescriptions electronically. In Phase II, we developed other common modules like Past Family, Social and Medical History, Allergies, Current Medications, Physical Exam, Vitals, Lab Results, Diagnostic Results, Problem DX, Lab Orders, Radiology Orders, Prescriptions, Procedures, Charge Capture, etc.
Data Complexity
From simple text and numeric data to doctors’ prescriptions and case notes, and finally to lab results and medical images, there is an entire range of complex data structures generating a high volume of information every minute. Thus, in Phase III, we developed peripheral modules that helped integrate the system with other systems. As a result, pharmacies and healthcare providers could exchange electronic messages which helped reduce time to generate and send prescriptions. Further, Digicorp helped the client certify its product for Meaningful Use Stage I, 2012 by Certification Commission for Health and Information Certification Commission for Health and Information Technology (CCHIT) with a 5-star usability rating.
Attaining Regulatory Compliance for the EHR Software
According to the 2014 Edition EHR certification criteria, a set of technical capabilities, standards and implementation specifications must be met to be certified as a compliant EHR Technology under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. These standards under Meaningful Use certification include:
- HIPAA for data security and privacy
- OMB standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,
- Statistical Policy
- Architectural specifications
- Data interoperability
- Context-aware retrieval frameworks
To achieve these standards and certifications, we deployed technologies like .Net and MS SQL. Today, company’s EHR 15.0 Ambulatory EHR Module is 2015 Edition Compliant and its cloud-based technology is HIPAA compliant. The Drummond Group has awarded the Company with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC-Health IT) 2015 Edition Health IT Module Certification. In 2013, they were certified with Surescripts E-Prescribing and ICSA Labs Certified EHR for Meaningful Use Stage II in 2014.
Crafting Product Differentiation - Evolving EHR Software into a Specialty
Most competitors of EMR are generalists who offer generic solutions to all doctors. Streamline MD has carved out a niche for themselves in imaging and image-guided procedures.
Within this niche, they offer multiple services which include:
- EHR for Interventional Radiologists
- EHR for Outpatient Endovascular Centers
- Interventional Radiology Coders
- Radiology Coding & Billing Services
- Vascular Interventional Radiology Billing Services
- Vein Billing and Coding Services
- Pain Billing Services and EHR
During a trade show organized by the HIMSS, we dedicated long hours to help build the beta version of a cutting-edge, innovative feature for the company. This new feature uses cutting-edge technology that enables doctors and radiologists to quickly demonstrate to the patient the affected area in his vein simply by superimposing the lab image on an HQ image of the human body. Earlier, this had to be done manually, costing time, money and leading to confusion. This was a great stride ahead for the client and we are extremely happy to have enabled them in their journey of pathbreaking innovation.
Continuous Upgradation and Support for EHR Software
Building an Electronic Health Record (EHR) software involves the development of various modules to ensure comprehensive healthcare management. Each module plays a crucial role in enhancing patient care, streamlining administrative processes, and improving overall efficiency within healthcare organizations. To this date we have built over 60+ modules for the EHR, below is the list of major ones :
Patient Portal
To provide secure access to medical records, test results, insurance details, and demographic information. It also enables patients to request an appointment with the doctor
Inventory Web
This module is used to streamline inventory management of medical supplies and it ensures efficient tracking, ordering, and restocking of supplies.
Revenue Forecaster
It is used for facilitating financial planning by predicting income based on the available patient data and services provided to them.
Prior Authorization
It is prior approval that the healthcare providers are required to obtain from the insurance company before proceeding with the procedures. This module helps practitioners manage all the data for approval for specific patients for insurance and also helps practitioners to make sure who is going to pay for the procedures performed on a patient which includes many health care services, treatment plans, prescription drugs, and the procedures performed
Scheduler
It automates scheduling appointments for healthcare providers and patients which helps minimize wait times and reduce no-shows
Prescription/Current Medication
Add, manage and track patient prescriptions. It provides accurate and up-to-date information to doctors about the present state
Patient Chart
It compiles and organizes comprehensive patient health records, including medical history, diagnoses, treatments, and other relevant information, to facilitate a holistic view of the patient’s health.
Health Summary
Health Summary is a Module that provides the summary of a patient’s health data which includes the patient’s appointments, allergies, current medication, current and past problems, the vitals taken from the devices, the procedures performed, Also a list of implantable devices and various lab and diagnostic reports are collectively available for the Patient at a specific place.
Patient Tracking
The client can monitor and track patient progress. It provides real-time updates to the healthcare team to improve continuity of care for better patient outcomes.
Patient Demographics
Provides centralized patient information to ensure accuracy in data for billing, insurance, and personalized care. Also ensures efficient communication and information retrieval across the EHR system.
Interoperability Dashboard
Facilitating seamless data exchange between different healthcare systems. It improves collaboration and communication among healthcare providers for holistic patient care and ensures interoperability with external systems, such as labs and pharmacies.
Problem/Dx
Problem/Dx is also known as ICD in medical terms which means all problems that are defined by the State body. Our EHR has options to keep the status for the problem to maintain the progress of the problem that the patient is facing.
Immunization
It is the section that helps EHR practices find out what immunizations have been administered for a specific patient. Immunization records consist of the date on which that immunization was administered, the source of how it was administered such as private, federal, or state, and also the place/site where it was administered like hand/leg etc.
Vitals
The vitals section in EHR includes documentation for all types of vitals measurements such as temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and others to find a quick survey of the patient to identify abnormal findings within vitals. Our EHR has the ability to connect a physical device to our EHR system and automatically capture vitals in the section with minimal human interaction.
Concluding Note: We are not just Another Vendor But a Trusted Partner in Growth
Today, the company has clients across the United States and over 600 facilities are using their EHR application across 39 states in the US. Their EHR application currently has over 3000 users. Our sustained partnership with them demonstrates our focus on growing together and walking the extra mile to give our clients a clear edge in the market.