The Best EMR Systems of 2024

Posted in Electronic Health Records

Introduction

EMR systems streamline patient information management by reducing paperwork and administrative burdens, allowing clinicians to focus more on delivering quality patient care. With quick access to updated medical histories, treatment plans, and medications, providers make informed decisions on time, improving patient safety and reducing the risk of errors such as incorrect prescriptions. The best or worst EMR system is subjective and depends on a healthcare organization’s needs. Different types of practices have different requirements, so what works for one may not work for another. Therefore, it is important to evaluate every system’s needs and go for features that align with your practice’s workflow and goals. Let’s explore the best EMR systems of 2024 and see how they are transforming healthcare.

The Best EMR Systems In Healthcare 

Healthcare web applications enable medical professionals to remotely access and manage patient electronic health records (EHRs), streamlining workflows and improving patient care. Regulatory compliance is adherence to the standard rules, laws, specifications, and guidelines set according to each organization’s processes. If healthcare organizations violate regulatory compliance rules, they are subjected to legal punishment. Healthcare organizations must strictly adhere to industry regulations such as HIPAA to ensure patient privacy and data security.

Below are some of the best EMR systems examples available in the market:

Read more about regulatory compliance in healthcare.

Epic 

Epic is a leading electronic health record (EHR) system widely used in healthcare organizations, from small practices to large hospital systems. Known for its strong features and customization options, Epic facilitates patient engagement through its patient portal and supports interoperability. It makes way for seamless data exchange between different healthcare entities, making communication among providers easier. However, its implementation can be costly and complex, often requiring significant IT resources and training.

Pros

• Enables data sharing across healthcare organizations.
• Highly customizable to fit the specific needs of various medical specialties.
• Offers comprehensive tools, including telehealth options and a robust patient portal.

Cons

• Often associated with high upfront fees for setup and training.
• Due to multiple functions, the system can be challenging, especially for new users.
• Regular updates can lead to temporary downtimes and workflow adjustments, which may disrupt daily operations.

Cerner 

Cerner is a comprehensive system designed to improve patient care and streamline healthcare processes. It is popular for its user-friendly interface and offers features like customizable templates, voice recognition, and robust data analytics, all of which enhance clinical decision-making and operational efficiency. 

The platform supports safe access to patient records, enabling healthcare providers to manage patient information more effectively and develop better communication with patients through the patient portal.

Pros

• Cerner facilitates secure data sharing across different healthcare systems, enhancing care coordination.
• It offers tailored templates and workflows suitable for diverse medical specialties.
• Designed for ease of navigation, reducing administrative burdens, and improving clinician productivity.

Cons

• The setup process can be time-consuming and requires extensive training for users.
• Complex navigation of the system can be an issue.
• Implementation and ongoing operational costs can be significant, especially for smaller practices.

CareCloud

Among the examples of EMR systems, CareCloud is a major provider and manages millions of requests annually. It offers an up-to-date, straightforward interface with relatively competitive pricing to track patient flow.

Additionally, CareCloud helps spot possible back-ups, making your practice operations more efficient. This web-based EMR system can be used with any input device. 

Pros

• It has an updated interface to make navigation easier.
• Patient tracking flow is robust.
• It has adapted to match ever-changing laws and regulations.

Cons

• It is probably an oversimplified system for big hospitals and other large practices to use.
• While using CareCloud, small practices must get support from a Concierge service.
• Despite having a UserRights section, it only allows users access to financial information.
• The CareCloud system may work slowly at times. For example, when patients call for appointments or refills, it can take longer to pull up their charts.

AthenaHealth

From the EMR systems list, AthenaHealth is an easy-to-manage and simple program that fits the needs of different practices. It is exclusively web-based and works for healthcare providers on various devices.

Pros

• Its scheduling features can be easily sorted and customized.
• Practices can effortlessly learn to use it.
• AthenaHealth is a web-based EMR  compatible with different kinds of devices.

Cons

• This EMR cannot work sufficiently for large practices.
• Since it is web-based, healthcare organizations need strict access protection measures.
• Customer support is not good enough.
• Working on A/R and billing follow-up is problematic. AthenaHealth billing often does not charge patients for their balance.
• The EMR often needs countless clicks to do something.

eClinicalWorks

eClinicalWorks has a user base of over 850,000 medical professionals and has multiple ways to access many screens in the program. The documentation in the system can be easily adapted to the practice, giving providers ease of use.

The demographic area of eClinicalWorks has a menu that includes language, ethnicity, and race options, making access easy for practitioners without additional clicks. 

Pros

• Gives complete access to the patient’s records through files and charts.
• Allows multi-user synchronous access.
• Generates clinical notes that are organized and readable.
• Medicines and medical history are listed on the side rather than on too many pages.
• Photos in the office can be easily transferred to the medical record.

Cons

• The billing system of eClinicalWorks can pose issues for some practices.
• With so many screens, users have to switch constantly from one thing to another; this consumes a lot of time.
• It sometimes fails to save lab results and locks up.
• Education notes for patients are not good.

Also Read: Do you know the worth of EMR software?

Best EMR System For Mental Health 

Like various other medical practices, psychiatric practitioners have started integrating EMR systems to streamline their practice and improve the quality of patient care.

Many psychiatric practitioners are looking for the best EMR system for psychiatrists that offers them the right tools and features to enhance their practices.

The availability of dedicated behavioral health software means psychiatrists can have the right tools and features to access patients’ complete medical records with a single click. Similarly, such psychiatry EMR software enables practitioners to improve the diagnosis by collaborating with peers and sharing data.

Among the EMR systems in healthcare, TherapyNotes is a specialized mental health EMR system that offers features designed to streamline practice management. It includes customizable note templates, integrated billing, and a secure patient portal, all of which work to improve the efficiency of mental health practices. TherapyNotes is recognized as an integration software within Allscripts HER, providing mental health practitioners with tools that support better patient care and administrative workflows.

Pros

• This EMR system is designed with features and templates specifically for mental health practitioners.
•  It simplifies billing processes with built-in insurance management and invoicing capabilities.
• Intuitive design that enhances navigation and reduces administrative burdens.

Cons

• Its primary focus is on mental health, which may not suit practices of other medical fields.
• Costs can increase with additional users or optional features.
• While it integrates with Allscripts, it may not connect as seamlessly with non-mental health systems compared to broader EHR solutions.

List of EMR Systems in Healthcare 

EMR systems are widely used in healthcare to digitize patient data and streamline care management. Even solo practitioners can benefit from EMRs to efficiently manage their smaller patient bases.

Electronic Medical Records or EMR systems can be classified based on their deployment, specialty, setting, and integration capabilities. Deployment-based EMRs include cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid systems. Specialty-based EMRs are set for specific medical fields. Many examples of EMR systems show that they can be divided according to setting for outpatient or acute care.

Some common examples of the EMR systems include:

• EpicCare
• AdvancedMD
• AthenaHealth
• CareCloud
• Greenway Health Intergy
• Kareo
• NextGen Healthcare
• Sevocity
• TheraNest
• Practice Fusion

The Best and Worst Electronic Medical Records Software Companies

For decades, healthcare software development services have been working on EMR systems usually available with unique and standard features. Declaring the best and worst EMR systems is subjective and depends on individual practice’ needs. Here is a list of some companies that provide EMRs:

• Kareo
• Cerner
• Athenahealth
• eClinicalWorks
• CareCloud
• Practice Fusion
• Allscripts
• CureMD
• Epic Systems
• Vitera Healthcare Solutions
• GE Healthcare
• Meditech
• Praxis EMR
• Centricity
• Allscripts

Even after providing valuable features, some EMR software companies may fall short because of technical issues or inadequate customer support, causing them to rank lower compared to other top options.

However, all of the companies offer the following facilities:

• Extensive support system
• Training to increase the efficiency of staff
• Reduction of clinical and administrative errors
• Practice analytic services
• Automated health reminders for patients
• Patient portals
• Data security

What are the Best and Worst EMR System Examples for Hospitals?

Hospitals have multiple EMR options available to suit their requirements. Since they usually come under the umbrella of big practices, hospitals need an EMR system with strong functions.

TheraNest

It is a 100% web-based EMR system for hospitals. It can also be accessed through its mobile app, which means each hospital clinician can easily access it via his/her mobile phone. TheraNest EMR is user-friendly and offers a patient portal for convenient appointment scheduling and access to patient medical records on computers and smartphones.

Virence Health Centricity

This EMR for hospitals is also designed to be accessible through mobile apps. Centricity has a user-friendly interface with multiple tracking features. Centricity from Virence Health is an ideal option for some healthcare providers in small setups, but its high pricing and features may not work well for larger practices. This may cause it to rank low among the best EMRs for hospitals.

WebPT

WebPT is another web-based solution that is easy to access on mobile devices. Hospitals that offer outpatient services often choose this reasonably priced solution.

WebPT’s interface helps users easily spot the required information. It has acquired a reputation due to strong customer service, making it accessible anytime. However, some parts of the system are restricted in terms of data entry.

What are the Best EMR and Worst EMR Systems for Small Practices?

There are no standard best and worst EMR systems since every practice has different needs and goals. What works for one may not work for others. Many small practices use EMR systems to simplify their work and automate administrative processes. 

Here are some of the best EMR systems for small practices: 

Kareo

Kareo is a popular EMR choice for over 50,000 healthcare providers, with a team of 500 employees available for support. It is designed for smaller practices, is user-friendly, and easy to learn. While its interface may seem outdated, Kareo remains a reliable tool for managing patient records.

Pros

• It is an easy-to-run EMR that is specially made for small-scale practices.
• Kareo comes at a reasonable price, fitting the needs of average-size practices.
• This EMR system offers good support for training and implementation.

Cons

• Since it has a slightly outdated interface, it is not exactly useful for large and complex practices.
• Some users have complained about unexpected billings. Kareo billed them while using the demo version without them making an actual subscription.
• It has no sorting feature for scanned documents. This increases document clutter, making it hard for users to find what they need.

Sevocity

Sevocity is one of the best EMRs for small practices in more than 40 states. It offers basic customization options and great features for midsize practices. However, it is not capable of satisfying the needs of big hospitals.

Pros 

• This EMR has a simple interface.
• Offers good customer service features within desirable pricing.
• Functions well for smaller practices with a few staff members.
• Customer support team for small practices is available 24/7.
• Its services are accessible across 40 countries.

Cons 

• Lacks some training features.
• Offers limited tools.
• It is not useful for larger practices that require a more robust system.
• Though the price is reasonable, its lacking capabilities outweigh the cost.
• It allows only one person to be on the chart at a time; this slows down the pace and reduces the workflow.
• It does not support iPads or iPhones.
• Sevocity brings a mild complication in billing when treatment and various E/M occur on the same visit.

NextGen Healthcare

Being a healthcare IT integration provider, NextGen offers harmonious integration to boost interoperability. It comes with many customization options and provides excellent training to the staff to help deliver good services.

NextGen’s strong training and customer support make it a suitable choice for smaller practices that may lack an in-house technical team. The user-friendly and efficient software provides the support needed for smooth operations. NextGen EMR is so customizable that practices can tailor its service to their exact requirements and specifications.

Pros

• Its training and customer service are outstanding.
• It is a manageable system that allows practices to start running quickly.
• It has multitudes of customization options at a very low price.

Cons

• It is not a powerful tool for large practices or hospitals.
• The system contains some nuances that take a lot of time to learn.
• It has inefficient features; for instance, when a practitioner is searching for something in the history data, the system displays unrelated lists.
• It does not have any options to add extensive patient details.
• NextGen’s charting does not fit the needs of physicians, and many turn to paper charting again.

Growth of Electronic Medical Records Software Market (EMR)

Doctors often use electronic medical record system software to organize patient history, medical data, billing systems, and prescriptions. Some EMRs are the best, whereas others might not provide doctors with good experiences. The selection of the best and worst EMR systems depends on your needs.

EpicCare EMR

EpicCare EMR is a fast, doctor-friendly EMR software recognized as the industry-leading, reliable medical record system. Compared to all other EMR systems, it is far ahead of its competitors. Epic establishes its interfacing methodology in adherence to HL7 compliance standards. Its simplistic yet adaptable design and epic system integration have brought transformation by making day-to-day operations easy for both healthcare providers and patients.

Pros 

• It has an incredibly versatile ability to furnish a lot of functions to all its users in the healthcare industry.
• Collecting medication, organizing meetings, scheduling appointments, and arranging history are some functions that work well.

Cons

• After its updates, putting up orders for patients is not easy.
• Epic’s customer support is not very responsive to the requested user-friendly changes.
• To some users, it is complicated to work with Epic because it is time-consuming.

AdvancedMD

AdvancedMD offers many customizable features that make it suitable for any size of practice. Its interface has detailed scheduling and prescription tracking options. It covers medical staff’s needs, whether they require fundamental or advanced features, and is adaptable enough to match the needs of different kinds of practices.

Its primary dashboard requires some effort to learn how to use it properly. However, once doctors figure out how it works, they can easily perform tasks to help run practices more efficiently.

Pros

• AdvancedMD has an all-inclusive scheduling interface.
• It is a versatile EMR for different sizes of practices.
• Its prescription tracking capability is excellent.

Cons

• It takes time to learn well to use it efficiently.
• It has higher prices than some other EMRs.

Greenway Health Intergy 

After Epic and AdvancedMD, Greenway Health Intergy is another flexible EMR system. It offers multiple training options and optimal customer service.

It is highly customizable, which means it is ideal for large medical practices to help them handle a variety of patients and cases.

However, it may take time for doctors to learn different aspects of Greenway.

Pros

• This EMR system has many flexible features.
• It collects shortcuts systematically to streamline tasks of practice.
• Offers outstanding training options as well as optimal customer service.

Cons 

• Its interface, once updated, can make it a bit more complex.
• Learning the custom options to use the system well takes a lot of time.

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Conclusion

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are considered a life-saving resource for the healthcare industry. However, they are not without disadvantages. Whether the best or the least useful EMR is chosen, each has its pros and cons that make it useful for specific needs. If EMRs are chosen without proper measures, they can give rise to unprecedented risks.

Since the healthcare industry involves dealing with the lives of people, even tiny mismanagement can take someone’s life. Therefore, you must thoroughly analyze each system and choose an online medical record system that fits the best before implementing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The Best Free EMR Systems?

Free EMR systems have certain features that are limited. Some popular free options include OpenEMR, One Touch EMR, FreeMed, and Hippocrate.

Who Are The Top EHR Vendors in the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada?

Epic and Cerner are top vendors in the U.S., while EMIS and TPP are popular systems in the UK market. Best Practice and MedicalDirector are popular in Australia, and Cerner and Allscripts have a high market share in Canada.

Are you a therapist? We have suggestions on the top EHR for therapists.

What Are The Top 3 EHR Systems?

• Epic
• Cerner
• Allscripts

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