- 64% of providers spend more than an hour a day documenting visits.
- 74% of practices spend more than an hour of staff time daily on patient messages.
- One psychiatrist cut administrative work by 1.5 to 2 hours a day after switching EHRs.
- AI Note Assist cut one psychiatrist’s after-hours charting from up to two hours to five minutes.
- Reminders cut one practice’s no-shows from about 20% to 1%, preserving about $600,000 in revenue.
- One practice added providers and a second location without adding administrative staff.
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After nearly 30 years in practice, Dr. Arjun Reyes is no longer thinking about retirement. That wasn’t true a few years ago. So what changed?
Dr. Reyes, who runs a mental health practice in Southern California, credits a more efficient EHR with reducing his administrative workload by 1.5 to 2 hours a day. With less time spent managing workflows and documentation, he has more control over how he spends his days.
“What we’re really looking for is freedom,” he said. “Freedom to work more, freedom to work less, freedom to do this or that.”
During Tebra’s recent webinar, How to choose an EHR with fewer clicks, Dr. Reyes joined Hannah Abrams to discuss his journey through three EHRs, the challenges of switching, and what independent practices should look for in their technology.
When your EHR becomes another source of work
Dr. Reyes initially resisted moving from paper to an EHR. When he eventually made the transition, his first EHR was too simple for his growing practice’s needs. His second was too complicated: “very clunky and not efficient,” trapping his team in rework and workarounds.
His experience reflects a widespread challenge. Tebra’s latest research finds that 65% of providers spend more than an hour a day on documentation, while 74% spend more than an hour managing patient messages.
Switching EHRs isn’t easy. Migrating patient records takes time, and staff must learn and adjust to new workflows. But sticking with an inefficient EHR has costs, too, particularly as practices struggle with rising overhead, reimbursement pressures, more extensive documentation, and growing administrative demands.
For Dr. Reyes, the goal was an EHR that worked better for his entire team and improved the patient experience.
What freedom looks like in daily practice
Dr. Reyes explained how freedom shows up in his practice’s everyday workflows.
Less after-hours documentation. Tebra’s AI Note Assist helps organize patient conversations into structured notes that providers can review and edit. Dr. Reyes says he now spends about five minutes wrapping up after his last patient, rather than another 90 minutes to two hours completing charts.
Smoother staff coordination. Tebra’s shared dashboard shows providers when patients have checked in, reducing unnecessary waiting and interruptions. Dr. Reyes says improving communication has made his staff more efficient and less stressed.
More time for patients and professional development. With less administrative work, providers can focus more on patient care. Dr. Reyes uses the time to deepen his expertise: “I spend an hour extra a day just to study my craft.”
Freedom to grow without multiplying the workload
Beyond the day-to-day time savings, the right EHR can support more efficient workflows that allow a practice to grow.
Dr. Reyes says his practice has scaled significantly, adding providers and a second location – all without adding administrative staff.
For an independent practice, greater efficiency creates options: serving more patients, adding services, or expanding operations without proportionately increasing administrative demands.
For example, while many nearby practices have six- to eight-week waits for new patients, Dr. Reyes’ practice can often see a new patient within a week. Patients complete their pre-visit paperwork digitally, so it’s already in the chart without manual entry. Additionally, automated reminders have cut his no-show rate from around 20% to about 1%, preserving about $600,000 in revenue.
Choose an EHR for the practice you want to run
When it’s time to find a new EHR, Dr. Reyes and Hannah recommended looking beyond feature lists. They shared three priorities:
- Identify your biggest bottlenecks. Look at where the work piles up, whether that’s documentation, patient communication, scheduling, or billing. Dr. Reyes prioritized easier note-taking and smoother patient flow.
- Involve everyone who uses the system. Providers, office managers, reception staff, and billers have different needs and perspectives. Bring them into the evaluation process, and ask vendors to demonstrate how the system handles real scenarios for each.
- Plan for flexibility. Choose an EHR that can support new services, practice growth, and evolving capabilities like AI. Consider whether AI works within existing workflows or requires disconnected tools.
Dr. Reyes also recommended starting small and trying the technology to evaluate whether it actually fits your practice’s needs.
Comparing and switching EHRs takes effort, but he cautioned that resisting change can keep practices using inefficient systems for too long.
Technology should expand your practice’s choices
For Dr. Reyes, the value of a good EHR goes beyond time saved or features added. It’s about having more control over his work, supporting his staff, and creating options for the future of his practice.
The right EHR helps providers accomplish more in the day-to-day, but it also gives them more control and freedom to decide how to spend their days.
Watch the on-demand webinar or read Dr. Reyes’ story to learn how to evaluate your own EHR options.
Ready to consider Tebra for your own practice? Schedule your personalized demo to see how Tebra gives you the flexibility to transform your practice.
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