How to find the best EHR for your specialty

When you think of the perfect electronic health record (EHR) software, you want it to work for your team, workflow, and patients. You want it to be flexible and scalable enough to accommodate your practice’s specific needs. 

Yet, nearly 7 in 10 private practice providers report a desire to switch due to dissatisfaction with their current EHR, according to Tebra's survey of 183 private providers. 

The missing link? EHRs that mirror the granular specificity in a particular specialty.

But by researching, knowing what to look for, and asking the right questions, you can get the right EHR for your practice or specialty.

In this article, learn the key factors to consider when choosing an EHR, the steps for selecting the right one for your practice, and specialty-specific EHR requirements for success.

EHRs are the lifeblood of modern medical practices. According to Medscape's Physicians and Electronic Health Records 2023 Report, 96% of United States physicians already use EHRs. EHR technology has advanced to include an array of essential and specialty-specific functions that improve efficiency, streamline patient data management, and enhance care quality. In the evolving healthcare industry, EHR systems also help healthcare providers organize critical health information more effectively.

To illustrate the improvements in EHR functionality, let's review the key differences between the main types of EHRs.

A general EHR contains core features that can be used in any practice and supports the needs presented by patients in this setting. Generic EHRs can also be modified to work in specialty practices. However, they often lack the specific modules and capabilities a specialty-specific EHR provides, which limits how effective they are for specialized care such as pain management or internal medicine.

Specialty-specific EHRs are designed to meet the unique needs of specialty practices without requiring additional customization. These systems also align with value-based care by providing workflows tailored to specific conditions, procedures, and treatments.

Some specialty-specific EHRs might offer granular-level specificity with data entry fields designed to accommodate the type of data they collect. For example, within cardiology, you might find a congenital heart defects specialist and a coronary artery disease specialist. The EHR system in such a practice may provide specific templates and workflows that fully adapt to the needs of different cardiologists and patients, ensuring seamless management of all aspects of a cardiology practice.

Different types of physicians may use specialty-specific EHRs in the scope of their practices with unique requirements. Let's look at a few examples.

EHRs designed for primary care streamline everyday tasks like scheduling, billing, and patient management. These systems often incorporate automation to minimize administrative burden, connectivity features for seamless communication, and population health tools to track and improve patient outcomes effectively.

To support these needs, primary care EHRs include features like:

Psychiatry and psychology EHRs prioritize confidentiality, patient tracking, and secure documentation. For effective mental health management, these practices require:

OB/GYN EHRs support the complexity of women's health care by simplifying workflows and ensuring comprehensive patient tracking. Key features often include:

Pediatric EHRs address the unique requirements of child healthcare, from growth tracking to specialized compliance standards. These systems must provide:

Choosing an EHR tailored to your specialty can improve efficiency and patient outcomes. Once you have an idea of the EHR you want, refine your choices based on the following factors:

Private practice providers surveyed for Tebra's 2024 EHR report ranked usability and customization as the number one essential feature of an EHR. While 45% would like improved or additional usability features, 23% still encounter significant customization, navigation, interface design, performance, and data entry limitations with their current EHR.

Multiple EHR usability issues are often linked to errors that could compromise patient safety, disrupt provider workflow, and lead to increased cognitive burden and clinician burnout.

Consider an EHR solution with a simple, intuitive interface that's easy to use, accurate, and secure. Evaluate usability characteristics and functions to determine if the system offers robust features that streamline operations and enhance patient care.

Tebra's 2024 EHR report uncovered that integration with existing workflows is a major pain point for 32% of private practice providers. Another 34% cite inadequate integration capabilities, which drive the desire to replace their current system. 

Consider EHRs with seamless integration capabilities that adapt to your practice's needs for seamless data exchange and interoperability, smooth transition, and better productivity.

The right EHR should offer a high degree of customization. It should let you define and refine how you capture, access, and use information to support the care you provide. 

For example, a psychiatry and psychology practice EHR might come with a high level of confidentiality and security of clinical charts that only select providers can access or detailed note-taking and customized treatment plans to track patients' progress over time.

An EHR should also include customization features that minimize disruption and make the workflow more efficient. These include alert settings, which are specific to the roles in your practice. For example, physicians would get urgent lab results, overdue tasks, and patient status notifications, while front desk staff would see administrative and billing task alerts. 

Take these steps to ensure you choose the best EHR for your needs:

Once you've secured staff buy-in and openness towards new technology, take stock of the health IT tools already in use at your practice to get specific about your current and future needs. Then, perform a needs assessment to identify inefficiencies and operational gaps in your workflows to understand how a new EHR might help address them.

Meet with EHR vendors and evaluate each based on usability characteristics and functions to determine if the system offers robust features that enhance patient care and streamline operations. 

Review each system's ability to deliver in key areas, including charting, privacy and security, HIPAA and HITECH compliance, prescriptions, lab and results management, clinical decision support, and quality improvement. 

Schedule and run demos with 5–10 potential EHR vendors that meet your practice's specific operational and growth needs. Ensure your key staff are present for the demos so they can weigh in with observations and questions.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of the process:

Tebra offers a list of questions you can ask EHR vendors during the EHR evaluation process.

To get the most out of your specialty-specific EHR, follow these best practices:

Involve key stakeholders in your practice, such as lead physicians, clinicians, front office staff, billing team, administration, and board members, to develop a clear strategy for how the EHR will add value to your healthcare mission. 

Create an EHR implementation and training plan that details how you'll integrate the EHR system into your workflow. This process generally involves the following steps:

By understanding your specialty's unique needs and evaluating EHR solutions based on usability, integration, and customization, you can find a system that aligns with your goals and supports long-term success.

Investing in the right EHR is a step toward providing better care and optimizing your practice's performance. Discover how Tebra's all-in-one, cloud-based, ONC-certified EHR+ can support your specialty-specific needs with integrated features like medical billing, telehealth, and patient engagement tools.