- As healthcare providers shift
from volume-based care to value-based care
they may be asking themselves, "Can I do this in my EHR?
"Or do I need a supplemental solution
"such as care management software
"in order to effectively manage these programs?"
In this video, we'll explain the differences
between care management software and EHR technologies
and answer the question, "Can I do this in my EHR
"or do I need care management software
"to effectively manage value-based programs?"
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Hi, this is Loran from ThoroughCare.
Every day, we're helping companies across the country
with implementing value-based care
management software solutions
for some of Medicare's most profitable programs.
Here at ThoroughCare, we've worked
with several different EHRs, some good, some bad.
We'll take you through the key differences
between an EHR and a care management solution
to determine the best fit for your group's needs.
First, let's start with a quick overview
of what each of these are.
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An EHR is short for electronic health record.
It's basically a digital copy of the patient's paper chart.
The EHR is a great way for the provider to see
all of the patient's health history
to share data with other providers.
And perhaps most importantly,
the accuracy of what the providers are actually billing for.
The EHR was really built to manage volume-based programs.
It might be limited on how to manage these patients
in value-based care programs.
Care management software is designed to supplement the EHR
for these value based care programs.
The purpose of care management software
is to fill gaps in care,
to improve patient's health outcomes,
lower risk of both the patient and provider,
and ultimately, lower healthcare costs.
A care management software
does not replace an EHR, nor should it.
In fact, you'll still need an EHR to participate
in some of these value-based programs.
The EHR is the central point for patient data
but the care management solution will help you
to perform the functions needed
in order to bill for value-based programs.
Now that we know what both of them are,
let's look at how they're different.
For the EHR patient information
tends to be much more thorough
and includes the entire medical history of the patient.
Care management software usually doesn't contain
as much medical history as the EHR does.
Providers really only pull the relevant medical information
needed from the care management tool
for some of these value-based care programs.
Basically care management solutions do not store
the entire patient's medical history.
That's the EHR's job.
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Most EHRs offer little to no data sharing
between other EHRs and healthcare systems.
It can reduce the quality of care
by limiting collaboration between providers
while trying to improve patient outcomes.
Let's say a primary provider,
a specialist, and even a hospital
want to collaborate to improve patient care
and they don't operate on the same EHR.
It can be very cumbersome to share information,
and to gather the information needed
to treat the patient effectively,
it ultimately lowers the quality of care
the patient might receive.
On the other hand, care management software
allows sharing of data effectively and efficiently.
Care management software allows data
to be exchanged across any EHR.
Through the help of reports and summaries,
this data can easily be attainable
from the care management solution itself.
The benefit of sharing information
through care management software
is that it improves collaboration among providers
and also lowers the risk of duplication,
miscommunication, and errors.
This improves the patient's health
by keeping the entire care team involved
in the patient's overall health.
It will ultimately improve patient's health outcomes.
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Let's look at using the EHR as a care management tool.
Some EHR weren't built to be care management tools,
nor do they want to be.
The EHRs that do offer care management solutions are clunky
and require extensive manual input
from resources such as care managers.
It affects the quality of caregiver to the patient
because ultimately it's not patient-centered.
At times, it doesn't even focus on the items
that are most important to the patient.
So with a care management tool,
it really allows you to pinpoint patient goals,
barriers, conditions in a way that an EHR
might not be able to.
The user interface with care management solutions
will give you dashboards or work lists
to properly sort and filter your patients
and prioritize care management tasks,
such as care plan creation and revision,
as well as some important assessments
that may be done for other value-based care programs.
The care management tool should ultimately
greatly improve the care manager's performance
due to the automations, the reporting capabilities,
and the overall functionality,
ultimately allowing them to become more efficient,
getting the patient the exact care they need.
It greatly improves the care of the patient.
You focus on the conditions or items
that are most important to the patient
within a care management solution,
and allow for constant revision and updating when necessary.
For some providers, an EHR might be a good fit
for what you're looking to accomplish
for some of these value-based programs.
However, care management software
gives you a set of specific tools,
allowing you to effectively and efficiently manage
your own in-house solution
for some of Medicare's most profitable programs.
If you're interested in learning more
about care management software
or about ThoroughCare software solution,
click the link in the description below
to download a free copy
of our Care Management Software Solution Buyers Guide.
Be sure to like this video,
and if you have any additional questions,
please feel free to leave a comment below,
and we'll be happy to help.
Thanks for watching.
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