As a medical practitioner, managing the day-to-day is difficult enough, without jumping from software to software to do your job well.
And let’s face it. Your patients’ lives, health, and overall well-being are in your hands. That’s a lot of pressure for one person to manage. However, the best EMR systems exist to make your life (and your job) easier.
In fact, one could argue that the job is impossible without it.
Furthermore, medical practices exist in all shapes and sizes with varying specialty services as well. So it’s no surprise that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of EMR systems to choose from.
How do you know which one is the perfect fit for your practice? From scheduling appointments and online payments to telehealth, medication refills, and patient portals… there’s a lot to consider.
So, we created this guide to offer insightful recommendations for various use cases depending on what you need.
To help you make the right decision, we narrowed it down to the top eight EMR systems on the market. This article covers an extensive review of each system, when it makes sense to invest, and how to decide.
NextGen Healthcare
Best Overall EMR System
Cloud EHR system with features for patient scheduling, billing management, and telehealth. Custom solutions for all types of practices.
The Best EMR Systems to Consider:
- NextGen Healthcare – Best for most users
- Kareo – Best for independent practices
- CareCloud – Best for fast-growth practices
- DrChrono – Best EMR mobile app
- Greenway Health – Best for workflow automation
- CureMD – Best EMR system for medical billing
- Practice Fusion – Best for ease of use
- Amazing Charts – Best EMR for OB/GYN
#1 – NextGen Healthcare Review — Best Overall EMR System
NextGen Healthcare
Best Overall EMR System
Cloud EHR system with features for patient scheduling, billing management, and telehealth. Custom solutions for all types of practices.
NextGen Healthcare is the best EMR system on the market today. They provide software and tools to practices of all shapes and sizes. By implementing NextGen Healthcare, practices benefit from higher productivity, improved patient experience, and simple information exchange.
NextGen Healthcare has been providing solutions to healthcare providers for nearly 50 years. More than 155,000 caregivers trust this healthcare IT platform for their practices.
With NextGen Healthcare, you’ll benefit from a cloud-based EHR system, practice management tools, revenue cycle management features, and a patient portal.
Top features of the system include:
- Drag-and-drop scheduling
- Automated appointment reminders
- Custom follow-up rules
- Billing services
- Telehealth visits
- Medication refill requests
- Online payments
NextGen Healthcare solutions are fully customizable for your specific practice. The software is trusted by dozens of providers in a broad range of categories, such as:
- Family practices
- OB/GYN
- Primary care
- Urgent care
- Podiatry
- Pediatrics
- Internal medicine
The cloud-based software gives practices connections to major labs, simple e-prescribing, consolidated patient data, and reporting from anywhere. In addition to making things easier in-house for your team, the software will also improve the patient experience overall patient communication.
There are two base solutions for you to choose from—NextGen Office (for practices with up to 10 physicians) and NextGen Enterprise (practices with 10+ physicians).
Contact NextGen Healthcare to learn more about a custom solution for your practice.
#2 – Kareo Review — Best EMR System For Independent Practices
Kareo
Best For Independent Practices
Kareo offers free training, free support, and free onboarding. Their all-in-one EMR solution can be fully customized to meet the needs of independent healthcare providers.
Kareo is built specifically for the unique needs of independent practices. Unlike software designed for hospitals and larger medical groups, Kareo eliminates the complex features and functionality that you won’t need.
Independent physicians can use Kareo to manage all functions of their practice through a single and easy-to-use platform.
One of the reasons why Kareo ranks so high on our list is because of their excellent customer service and commitment to your success. Kareo offers free support, free training, and free onboarding to ease the implementation process.
Kareo is an all-in-one EMR system with built-in EHR functionalities. Some of the top features and benefits include:
- Integrated patient portals
- Simple electronic prescribing
- Digital charting and notes
- Customizable dashboard
- eLabs
- Secure messaging
- ICD-10 ready
- Flowsheets
- Integrated prescription discounts
Kareo has solutions for payment collections, insurance reimbursements, HIPAA-compliant telehealth, and more.
In addition to tools for physicians, Kareo also accommodates the unique needs of non-physician providers, like therapists, social workers, and nurse practitioners.
To get started, just schedule a demo and request custom pricing.
#3 – CareCloud Review — The Best For Scaling Practices
CareCloud
Best For Scaling Practices
CareCloud has the flexibility to support small practices to enterprise-grade hospital systems. They provide custom EMR solutions for a wide range of practice types and use cases.
CareCloud is our top pick for smaller practices that have outgrown their existing system. If you feel like your current EMR no longer supports the complex needs of your fast-growing practice, then you should consider upgrading to CareCloud.
I like CareCloud because they don’t offer cookie-cutter solutions. It’s easy to customize your EMR system at the physician level and the practice management side of your operation as well.
CareCloud has an extensive list of EMR solutions to accommodate the needs of any growing healthcare practice.
- Electronic health records
- Telehealth
- Patient experience
- Advanced billing
- Healthcare analytics
- Revenue cycle management
- Practice management
They provide EMR systems to small practices, large medical groups, and even enterprise-level hospital systems.
More than 23,000 users trust the integrated cloud-based solutions provided by CareCloud. They support 23+ unique specialties, including:
- Dermatology
- Urology
- Podiatry
- Rheumatology
- Orthopedics
- Urgent Care
- OB/GYN
- Plastic and Reconstructive
- Physical Therapy
- Internal Medicine
- General Surgery
The EMR system from CareCloud will give you a comprehensive overview of your patients’ clinical summaries. From vital signs to medications, allergies, labs, and more, CareCloud puts everything at your fingertips.
#4 – DrChrono Review — The Best EMR Mobile App
DrChrono
Best EMR Mobile App
Advanced iOS apps for physicians, practices, and patients. Benefit from features like self check-in kiosk mode to streamline office visits.
Most of the best EMR systems on the market today will offer some type of mobile access for physicians, practices, and patients. But DrChono’s mobile app is second to none.
The DrChrono app is much faster and more convenient than managing patient records on a laptop or desktop. The app offers access to EMR, practice management, billing, RCM, patient portals, telehealth, and more.
The app is perfect for customizing medical forms, scheduling, and billing. You can even use the app to streamline your appointment check-in process in the office with patient self-check-in kiosk mode.
17.8+ million patients are being managed using a DrChrono solution. So you know it’s a platform that has been proven to work well at scale.
The only downside of DrChrono is that it’s only available for iOS. So you can’t use it on Android devices. But it’s the best EMR app on the market for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches.
#5 – Greenway Health Review — Best For Workflow Automation
Greenway Health
Best For Workflow Automation
Leverage automation tools to streamline critical tasks. Benefit from features like 500+ custom forms and automated patient communication tools.
Greenway Health provides software and services that give healthcare providers the insights required to offer patient-driven care.
The EHR system from Greenway Health is a bit unique compared to some of the other solutions on our list. All aspects of the software are designed to streamline your practice workflows. You’ll spend less time on labor-intensive and redundant tasks, to ultimately improve your processes and increase revenue opportunities.
Greenway Health has all of the solutions you need to improve your practice with an EMR system. They have tools for things like:
- Patient care
- Profitability and financial performance
- Compliance and reporting
- Data security
- Workflow efficiencies
- Revenue cycle management
- Patient engagement
- Care coordination services
With Greenway, you’ll also benefit from 500+ customizable templates and forms. The software also has 15 different dashboards, 500+ reports, and 5,000+ reportable clinical fields. There are even features for patient communication, like automated instructions for procedures and appointment reminders.
#6 – CureMD Review — Best EMR System For Medical Billing
CureMD
Best For Medical Billing
Use CureMD for electronic labs, electronic prescriptions, and interoperability features. You can even outsource your billing needs to the CureMD staff.
If you’re looking for an EMR system with integrated billing solutions, look no further than CureMD.
The billing services offered by CureMD help medical practices minimize errors while maximizing profitability. This end-to-end revenue cycle management tool is built for 32+ unique medical specialties.
Some of the other top EMR system features of CureMD include:
- Electronic prescriptions
- Electronic labs
- Workflow automations
- Interoperability
- iPhone and iPad mobile app
CureMD is easy to implement but still offers enterprise-grade functionality. It’s highly customizable and built to meet the needs of different practice types.
While you’re using the CureMD EMR software, their staff can manage your entire billing operation. This includes everything from claim creation to follow-ups and reporting.
#7 – Practice Fusion Review — Best Easy-to-Use EMR System
Practice Fusion
Best Easy-to-Use EMR Software
Practice Fusion is a simple yet robust EMR system. It will improve your charting and overall practice management operations.
As previously mentioned, EMR systems can be complicated. From the initial implementation to training your staff and leveraging all of the potential features, it can be a bit overwhelming.
But Practice Fusion has eliminated the complexity associated with EMR software. For those of you who want to go digital without a sharp learning curve, this solution will be a top choice for you to consider.
The cloud-based tool can be accessed from anywhere with Internet access. It’s HIPAA-compliant, and ONC certified Electronic Health Record.
Some of the top features of Practice Fusion include:
- Smart charting
- Custom templates
- Automated favorites list
- Code assistance (so you won’t have to memorize codes)
- Electronic prescriptions
- Quick refills
- Automatically insurance verification
- Appointment management
You’ll also benefit from automatic updates, the ability to chart on any device, and free patient portals. Practice Fusion has tools for scheduling, billing, and total practice management.
It doesn’t have some of the advanced features offered at the enterprise level. But the tools are more than enough to accommodate the needs of smaller and even growing practices.
#8 – Amazing Charts Review — Best EMR System For OB/GYN
Amazing Charts
Best EMR For OB/GYN
EMR system with tools for billing and total practice management. Benefit from electronic prescriptions, simple charting, and integrated messaging. Starts at $199.
Amazing Charts is another provider with a wide array of products for medical practices. In addition to EMR systems, they offer billing services, practice management tools, telemedicine solutions, and more.
Lots of EMR systems have software versions and custom options for different practice types. But Amazing Charts is best known for it’s OB/GYN practices.
Overall, Amazing Charts is designed to make charting quick and easy. This gives physicians more time to spend with their patients.
In addition to charting, other top features and benefits of Amazing Charts include:
- Electronic prescriptions
- Templates
- Messaging system
- Patient portal
- Scheduling
- Reporting
- Billing
- Maintenance and support
Amazing Charts is one of the only EMR systems to list their pricing online. EHR solutions start at $199 per month per clinician. The practice management tools start at $299 per month, with a $1,995 setup fee.
Add-ons for features like MACRA/MIPS start at $125.
The interface of Amazing Charts is a bit dated compared to some of the other platforms we’ve reviewed. But it’s still an excellent choice for OB/GYN practices. Contact Amazing Charts to start your free trial.
When it Makes Sense to Invest In an EMR System
Any medical practice can benefit from an EMR system. From independent primary care physicians to specialists and large medical groups, EMR systems are for everyone.
Years ago, EMR systems were considered a luxury in the medical world. But today, they have become a necessity for every type of medical practice.
Medical practices that aren’t using an EMR system are subject to government penalties in the form of Medicare reimbursement reductions. Implementing this technology will not only improve patient care and back-office functions, but it will also save you money.
From chiropractors and dentists to OB/GYNs, surgeons, and everything in between, every practice in the medical field needs an EMR system.
Methodology For Choosing The Best EMR System
How can you find the best EMR system for your medical practice? This is the methodology that we used to narrow down the top picks reviewed above. You can follow this buying guide as you’re shopping around and searching for different EMR solutions.
Practice Size
How big is your medical practice?
An independent physician won’t have the same needs as a large medical network or hospital system. It’s important to recognize which software has solutions to accommodate the size of your practice. While some EMR systems accommodate healthcare providers of all sizes, some specialize in large or small.
Practice Specialty
Stay away from cookie-cutter EMR systems. If something is advertised as “one-size-fits-all”, then I wouldn’t recommend it.
Psychiatrists have different needs than general surgeons. Podiatrists don’t need the same software as a chiropractor. An OB/GYN shouldn’t be using the same software as a plastic surgeon.
Make sure the software you choose has custom solutions to address the needs associated with your practice specialty.
EHR Functionality
Contrary to popular belief, EMR (electronic medical records) systems and EHR (electronic health record) systems are not the same things.
EMR systems store information at clinics, offices, and hospitals. But the charts and data remain at the location where it was initially entered. EHR systems allow clinicians to share information with other locations, such as a lab, specialist, or hospital.
If you want the capability to share patient data with other practices and locations, make sure the EHR system you choose comes with EHR functionality. Otherwise, you’ll be limited in terms of what you can do with patient information.
Patient Engagement
The best EMR systems go far and beyond basic electronic charting.
I’d recommend software that accommodates patient portals, electronic prescription requests, e-prescription orders, appointment scheduling, automated communication, and more. All of these features help streamline your day-to-day office operations.
There are even EMR solutions out there that can accommodate advanced patient engagement needs, such as telehealth.
NextGen Healthcare
Best Overall EMR System
Cloud EHR system with features for patient scheduling, billing management, and telehealth. Custom solutions for all types of practices.
Summary
What’s the best EMR system on the market today? We recommend NextGen Healthcare.
With that said, there are plenty of other excellent choices to consider. Factors like practice size, specialty, and your specific needs will help dictate the software that’s best for you.
Use the recommendations and methodology described in this guide to find the best EMR system for your medical practice.
This article was written by today’s Daily Eggspert.
