7 Ways Integrating Practice Management,
EMR & Clinic Marketing Can Drive Growth in 2022

A unified solution to manage your practice will keep your clinic running efficiently by removing busy-work that takes away from patient care. For example, each patient’s contact information, medical chart, photos, correspondence, and payment history is stored in one central location, so you never have to enter duplicate information from one system to another. The best clinic-management systems also include a CRM with customizable workflows to simplify processes and automate daily tasks.

Digital forms, electronic charting, ePrescribe and lab integration are also key features to increase efficiency and productivity. In addition, if your practice is still using paper charts, be sure you choose a user-friendly platform with a barcode feature that scans your charts and automatically puts documents in the right location within the correct patient’s electronic chart, so you don’t burden your staff with a mountain of data entry. These time-saving components work together as a single clinic-management solution. Your staff benefits by reducing workload so you can serve more patients and take your practice to

Going paperless is one of the most liberating aspects of updating your practice-management technology and synchronizing your business operations. When you let go of outdated paper files, you can ditch those overflowing filing cabinets and use the space for another exam room or a dedicated area for telemedicine visits. You may even be able to expand the types of treatments you offer or add another medical provider to your staff.

Clinics specializing in aesthetic treatments and elective procedures, like plastic surgery practices, dermatology providers and medical spas can benefit a great deal from a HIPAA-compliant photography app capable of saving before and after images to patient records. In fact, even weight loss clinics, vein treatment centers and some wellness practices should be using secure, HIPAA-compliant, photography software that works seamlessly with their clinic-management platform. Medical photography software can also enhance your consultations if it includes tools that help you visually explain procedures, manage expectations and upsell your services.

Features to look for include interactive morphing and slider tools, the ability to draw and make notes on patient photos and procedure tracking forms. These tools help patients envision what’s possible, making it easier to convert more consults to procedures. Innovative photo apps feature on-screen guides to help you capture high-quality before and after pictures taken from the same angle and distance. This consistency makes your photos look professional and helps patients feel great about their results, which often prompts them to book additional procedures and refer friends. Featuring your clients’ professional photos before and after on your website, social media pages and other marketing materials can also help you attract new patients. Just be sure to obtain the proper consent. This is a snap with medical photography software with built-in electronic consent forms.

Patient engagement should be a key part of your practice-growth strategy. Premiere practice-management software provides a host of patient engagement tools, so your clinic can communicate with patients between visits. Two essential components include a robust CRM and a patient portal. An all-inclusive platform with a CRM can pull information from your EMR or EHR to identify and track where each customer is in the patient journey, then send automated email and text messages at the appropriate time, such as appointment reminders to reduce no-shows and follow-up messages after procedures. A patient portal takes engagement a step further, allowing providers and patients to communicate securely online and via encrypted text messaging.

Patients can upload photos and videos to describe symptoms, fill out forms, view documents, request appointments, review lab results and access portions of their personal health records. Each interaction and associated health-related information is saved to the patient’s electronic chart. Medical practices that effectively use their patient portal to connect with patients experience increased patient satisfaction, repeat visits and referrals. More advanced patient portals also include a telehealth feature, giving physicians the option of conducting secure, HIPAA-compliant, appointments via video. Telemedicine is a convenient way to remove time and geographical barriers, so you can treat more patients.

A true practice-growth platform will include a marketing module, which allows you to promote your practice to patients and prospects via social media, email and text. A fully integrated system tracks which patients received which marketing messages and their responses. For the biggest impact, partner with a reputable practice-management software company that also offers website development, SEO, SEM, social media marketing and content marketing services. This will help more people in your community find you online. Plus, having all your marketing channels linked to the software that runs your practice makes it easy to add special offers to your website and social media pages to increase brand awareness, generate new leads and build patient loyalty.

When it comes to growing your practice, making informed decisions is essential. That is why top practice-management platforms come with a built-in reporting module. However, reporting tools are not the same. Make sure the system you choose can generate customizable, real-time reports that are understood easily at a glance. Organization-wide reporting is also key to identifying trends, inefficiencies, and accomplishments. You should be able to track KPIs such as staff productivity, revenue, treatments, medical equipment use, marketing, patient behavior, patient satisfaction and more. This type of data offers valuable insights about where you can make improvements that lead to growth.

The PoS (Point-of-Sale) system your practice uses to process payments could be limiting your revenue potential. If you are not able to create invoices, process payments, manage inventory and drive revenue directly from your patient and practice-management software, you are losing money and opportunities to better serve your patients. A payment platform will store estimates, invoices and transactions with the patient record and allow you to email or text them to your patients. Your POS should also put revenue-generating tools at your fingertips, like gift cards, sales packages, rewards, points, and a barcode scanner.

An intuitive PoS system tracks inventory, updates product counts, alerts you when an item is sold and time to reorder. This helps you keep retail products and consumable items in stock. Offering convenient, secure payment options that go beyond the usual credit and debit card transactions can also help you boost sales. Some examples include card on file, secure text-to-pay and setting up recurring transactions for patients who need to carry a balance. Accepting CareCredit is also very beneficial for patients who want financing options, plus it can increase your patient spend per visit.

While there are many popular practice management solutions on the market, not all platforms connect your EMR, practice operations and marketing in a centralized hub. What’s more, very few end-to-end systems offer the advanced features mentioned in this article. One industry-leading SaaS company, however, has recently enhanced its platform to create a truly all-inclusive solution with everything you need to manage and grow your entire practice. To learn more about how this best-in-class, patient and practice-management system can help you scale your practice in 2022, visit PatientNow.com.