According to the Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Report, the global market for healthcare cloud computing will increase to $89 billion by 2027. Meanwhile, Software as a Service (SaaS) is expected to be the most popular cloud model across the industry. So what does it mean for clinics, healthcare practitioners, patients, and businesses that participate in EHR development?
Healthcare SaaS allows for quick electronic health record integration, simplified document management, telehealth features, smooth administration, digital billing software, and more. Unsurprisingly, SaaS is all the hype in healthcare these days. To develop an EHR that truly stands out, one must understand how SaaS benefits the healthcare industry and how you can develop a perfect healthcare solution to capitalize on the trends and help your clients.
Are you ready to build a reliable EHR solution? Contact SPsoft to partner with a development team that understands how to translate clinical needs into high-performance, secure EHR software!
Table of Contents
What is the Difference between EHR and EMR Systems in Healthcare?
To start with, we must know the difference between Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Though they might seem the same at first glance, choosing the right EHR or EMR system depends on your specific workflow and data-sharing needs.
Electronic Medical Record
The electronic medical record is a patient’s digital chart stored by the clinic in a specific database. Physicians can log the information about particular prescriptions, practices, and diseases into the medical record. The core advantages are:
- Tracking necessary medications over time and accessing test results quickly
- Setting up notifications regarding regular procedures prescribed to patients
One major flaw of the medical record is that it stores information about separate practices entered by a single doctor. This information cannot be shared easily, making it inconvenient if the patient switches to another health system.
Electronic Health Record
Unlike an EMR, an EHR system stores information about a patient and all the patient’s prescriptions, procedures, and practices across multiple healthcare providers. Doctors can observe the entire patient health story and share it with other practitioners. The benefits include:
- Real-time data updates and management
- Access to advanced decision-making tools
- Seamless health information sharing with involved stakeholders
A modern, high-quality EHR offers expanded system functionality without the limitations of legacy records software.
How SaaS Integration Benefits Healthcare EHR
Integrating the EHR system with a SaaS platform allows healthcare providers to quickly access health records, manage, and share patient health information with authorized staff. However, notes are not always enough for proper diagnostics. Thus, your EHR platform should handle health data including videos and images.
Having doctors, nurses, and paramedics on the same page improves the speed of patient care, making a life-and-death difference. The introduction of a clinical decision support system (CDSS) can further enhance patient health outcomes by pulling EHR data and suggesting treatment options. With an automated information log, practitioners avoid manual entry, saving time for better patient care.
The Core Benefits of EHR Development for Physicians
- Reliability. A cloud-based EHR secures data by continuously saving it on the cloud, allowing for backups and support and maintenance services. Therefore, data can be restored to its previous state quickly, and losing it is nearly impossible.
- Regular updates. The electronic record is updated in response to new data entries, often via automated system updates. Healthcare staff can even get notifications whenever new data sets are introduced.
- Patient history. The entire history of electronic patient records is stored in one place. Physicians can navigate through a lifetime of health records easily.
- Prescriptions. Doctors can mark the drugs that should be added or removed from the prescription list. This data can be sent to the pharmacy and distributed to the patient.
- Group management. Doctors can group patients based on their health status, manage group treatment, and customize it to the specific patient needs. Similarly, doctors can invite other healthcare practitioners to gather insights and ask for relevant advice.
The Challenges of Creating EHR Software
EHR software development is challenging due to the high stakes of the industry. Quality and data security are critical when mistakes lead to dire consequences. So, let’s look at the most common challenges of developing an EHR platform.
Data Security
Cybersecurity attacks cost billions of dollars to healthcare providers every year. Hackers target personal health data because of its high value. Losing this sensitive information to them causes huge setbacks for the clinic, as it takes an average of 236 days to recover from a data breach. Besides, restoring the data does not just cause financial losses and legal implications. That may also cost vital time for the patients.
In this case, security is the most crucial thing you must focus on when building an EHR solution. The process requires profound industry expertise and strict adherence to the standards. That is why you will need a reliable partner who can help you develop such security features as:
- Multi-factor authentication, including password, face ID, fingerprints
- Account log-out after a prolonged inactivity period
- Access level management and control for different staff members
- Patient data encryption
- Login monitoring and breach detection
- Data backups and recovery
Regulation Compliance
Another key factor is adherence to international standards and regulations for medical software products. For instance, you must ensure EHR compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other global rules.
Your chosen vendor will need to validate your software for compliance and ensure certification support. Any healthcare software management system has to pass specific tests to receive certification. Fortunately, SPsoft can help you with that by running compliance validation to ensure your solution adheres to the industry standards.
Lack of Health-Tech Experience
Implementing a new EHR system means transforming and reformatting your existing data sets and applications. This implementation process can take a considerable average cost of EHR and time if the development team lacks experience.
Experience plays a vital role in any organization’s digital transformation, and that is especially true in healthcare organizations. A team of healthcare software developers who have already built numerous EHR solutions can drive the project from an idea to a reliable EHR.
Achieve Results with a Thorough Development Lifecycle
A successful EHR system implementation requires a structured software development process. Here is our guide to EHR software development:
Discovery Phase
The Project Discovery phase is the first and arguably the most critical one. It begins with your ideas and requirements for the project. Our experts would then proceed to analyze your EHR requirements, which would include:
- Establish the core features
- Assess the feasibility of the project
- Choose the right EHR architecture
- Study the EHR users’ specific needs
- Design the product (UI/UX prototyping)
- Create an MVP or a prototype
Each step can be somewhat different for each product, as there are no two completely similar projects. However, the steps above will help you build an EHR system that actually works in a high-pressure environment.
Product Design and Usability
Modern EHR and EMR software must be scalable, multi-tenant, and customizable. But there are some aspects of product design you need to consider when developing healthcare software:
- Usability – the interface of your EHR software must be intuitive and user-friendly. That is critical for ensuring effective product use within a clinical environment where most people do not have a technical background.
- Interoperability – the most important advantage of the new EHR is that your solution can be accessed from any location and device. So, you will ensure flawless performance of your applications on all types of devices, providing a seamless experience.
- Machine learning and artificial intelligence – these tech trends have already changed industry verticals, and healthcare is no exception. AI and Machine Learning allow for advanced data analytics, which is already used for enhanced diagnostics in healthcare.
- Blockchain – security remains one of the major concerns for cloud service users, and blockchain offers nearly impregnable protection from malicious attacks from the outside.
- Compliance – again, compliance is critical for any healthcare software management system. We plan it and the rest of the essential features ahead to ensure your product is market-ready.
Development and Testing
The EHR development process can take several months. At SPsoft, we start by creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to build an EHR with core features. MVP is a basic version of your product that contains only fundamental features. However, you can already launch it to the market and start to market it to your audiences.
Development, as a separate stage, often includes building over the MVP, adding new features, testing the product’s functionality, making interactions, and patching the problem areas based on the users’ feedback. Thus, the development phase would usually include:
- Adding robust security functions
- Integrating EHR data flows, synchronization, extraction, and uploading
- Development and testing new features
- Integrating helpdesk and support processes
An excellent benefit of SaaS medical software is that you can deploy your MVP to generate ROI while adding system functionality iterations later. Therefore, a market launch can happen after we create an MVP for you, and you can generate some ROI and bring value to clients sooner.
Support and Maintenance Services
During the maintenance phase, we monitor the EHR software performance and gather client feedback. This EHR use data is essential for planning further iterations. A relevant stage usually involves such steps as:
- Disaster recovery and backup testing
- Monitor and fine-tune the performance
- Gather feedback to plan further iterations
The app development lifecycle continues as long as you support the system, ensuring it meets evolving clinical needs. Regular updates and security maintenance are a must if you want to minimize the risks of breakdowns. From that point on, your EHR platform is fully functional.
Strategic Best Practices for Successful EHR Implementation
Implementing an EHR system is a transformative journey that requires more than just technical EHR development. EHR implementation is the process of aligning tech with clinical reality. To ensure a successful EHR launch, healthcare organizations must follow some best practices.
Analyzing EHR Requirements and User Needs
Before you build an EHR, you must conduct a deep dive into the EHR requirements of the end-users. EHR users, ranging from surgeons to administrative clerks, have different workflow needs. If the EHR software is too complex, it leads to EHR usability issues that frustrate staff and slow down patient care. Software with an intuitive interface is not just a preference; it is a requirement for EHR satisfaction.
Overcoming EHR Usability Issues
One of the most common complaints among EHR users is the high cognitive load. A successful implementation focuses on EHR usability by reducing the number of clicks required to perform common tasks. During the EHR development process, developers should use “shadowing” to observe how clinicians use the EHR in real-time. This helps in developing EHR features that actually support the clinical workflow rather than hindering it.
Comprehensive EHR Training and Adoption
EHR implementation fails when staff aren’t prepared. EHR training should be tailored to different roles. A nurse doesn’t need to know the same system functionality as a billing specialist. EHR learning is an ongoing process. Even after the new system is live, constant support is needed to ensure high EHR adoption rates and to address EHR identified bugs or gaps in the workflow.
Legacy EHR Data Migration
Most healthcare organizations aren’t starting from scratch. They are moving from a legacy EHR. Integrating the EHR data, including personal health history and electronic patient files, requires careful mapping to ensure no health data is lost. EHR developers must ensure that the new EHR can read and categorize historical medical record entries accurately to maintain a continuous patient health information trail.
Interoperability and Oracle Health Integration
In the modern health system, no EHR software exists in a vacuum. Your new system must be able to communicate with laboratories, imaging centers, and other hospitals. Many large systems use Oracle Health or similar enterprise EHR solutions. Ensuring your custom EHR software development is compatible with these giants through health information technology standards is crucial for successful EHR interoperability.
Final Thoughts
The SaaS model is transforming various aspects of EHR software. Clinical staff need a robust cloud-based EHR infrastructure when dealing with massive amounts of health information. With a reliable development team, you can build an EHR solution that benefits users, improves patient care, and saves lives. Whether you need custom EMR and EHR development or help with implementing an EHR system, SPsoft gives you the talent required to succeed.
Don’t let a legacy EHR hold your clinic back. Message us to learn how we can integrate EHR features with AI and Blockchain to create a modern EHR platform that scales with your healthcare organization!
FAQ
What is the typical development process for a new EHR system?
The EHR development process is a structured software development lifecycle that begins with a deep discovery phase to identify EHR requirements. This is followed by UI/UX design, where EHR usability is prioritized to ensure EHR satisfaction. The development team then builds the new system using a modern framework, followed by rigorous development and testing. This development process can take 3-4 months, often resulting in an MVP that allows for successful implementation while more complex features are added in subsequent iterations.
Why is EHR implementation considered a process rather than a single event?
EHR implementation is the process of integrating a new system into the daily workflow of healthcare providers. It involves far more than just installing EHR software; it requires EHR training, data migration, and adjusting clinical habits. A successful EHR launch depends on an ongoing implementation process that addresses EHR usability issues as they arise. Because healthcare organizations are dynamic, the use of the EHR must be continuously monitored and updated, making system implementation a continuous part of the app development lifecycle.
How does cloud-based EHR software improve patient care?
A cloud-based EHR improves patient care by providing healthcare providers with real-time data access from any device. This software development allows for a more responsive health system, where health information is updated instantly during a consultation. By integrating the EHR with a SaaS platform, healthcare organizations ensure that electronic patient records are always available to authorized staff, reducing medical errors and allowing for better coordination between different healthcare providers involved in a patient’s health status management.
What are the main EHR usability issues that developers should avoid?
Common EHR usability issues include overly complex navigation, excessive “data entry” requirements, and a lack of integration with the clinical workflow. To avoid these, EHR developers must build an EHR system with software with an intuitive interface that mimics a clinician’s thought process. EHR usability is the primary driver of EHR adoption. If the EHR software is cumbersome, EHR users will find workarounds that compromise data security and data quality, leading to a decline in EHR satisfaction across the healthcare organization.
How do healthcare software developers ensure HIPAA compliance?
Healthcare software developers ensure HIPAA compliance by building a reliable EHR with “Security by Design.” This involves implementing 256-bit data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and automated account log-out features. During EHR development, the team must also create an immutable audit trail to track every time patient health information is accessed. Ensuring EHR software meets Health Insurance Portability and Accountability standards is a mandatory part of the EHR development process to protect against the average cost of EHR breaches.
What is the average cost of EHR software development and implementation?
The average cost of EHR development varies significantly based on the system functionality and the complexity of the healthcare organization. Factors like legacy EHR data migration, Oracle Health integration, and the scale of EHR training all influence the final budget. However, software development services that utilize a SaaS model can often provide a more cost-effective development approach. By starting with an MVP and scaling the new system over time, clinics can manage the financial burden of implementing a new EHR system more effectively.
How does health information technology support interoperability?
Health information technology (HIT) supports interoperability by utilizing standardized protocols like HL7 and FHIR. These allow EHR and EMR software from different vendors to access health records and exchange health data seamlessly. When you build an EHR solution, ensuring it can communicate with other systems, such as Oracle Health or local pharmacy software solutions, is vital for a cohesive health system. True interoperability ensures that electronic patient records follow the patient, regardless of which healthcare organization they visit.
Why should a healthcare organization choose the right EHR vendor?
To choose the right EHR vendor is to choose a long-term partner for your health system. A reliable EHR vendor offers support and maintenance services, system updates, and expertise in EHR implementation. The right partner will have a deep understanding of medical software and the EHR development process, ensuring that the new EHR is compliant, secure, and user-friendly. A successful implementation depends heavily on the vendor’s ability to ensure EHR longevity and provide a reliable EHR that evolves with medical standards.
