Industry
Integrative Medicine
Challenge
The clinic needed a flexible, customizable EHR that could support its unique acupuncture and natural medicine workflows while scaling with future practice growth.
Results
After implementing CharmHealth EHR, the clinic improved productivity, streamlined documentation, and gained more time to see patients and grow the practice.
[...] CharmHealth came along and it's head and shoulders above the rest. It is small practice friendly, and they want you to succeed. CharmHealth EHR is number one. I am telling people about CharmHealth even when they are not asking about it.
Introduction
As an experienced acupuncturist-herbalist, Dr. David Cook knew from the beginning, when he began his search for an EHR, that his "eastern style" medical practice would require flexible software in order for him to be successful. He also wanted an EHR that was effortless.
"I needed something that would allow me to make specialized notes," he says. "I did the 30-day trial on all those popular ones in the market such as DrChrono and MacPractice. Considering the type of practice that I run, this just wasn't going to work for me."
Background
The Challenge
Early on, Dr. Cook was already looking towards the future of his practice. Although his patient volume is relatively low (he operates his private practice part-time), he anticipates making the shift to a more full-time private practice in the near future. When he makes the shift to a full-time practice, he anticipates seeing between 150-200 patients every month.
"I chose an EHR not just based on my current needs, but on where I'm going as well. When I get to the level in my practice where I start accepting insurance, I know that these other EHRs would not have made the cut. They don't have the templates I need, not do they allow me to make specialized notes for each patient. So those were automatically nixed from potential possibilities."
"With other EHRs," he says, "I felt as though I had to try and create a work-around to get what I needed from the software. I felt like I was wasting time and they just didn't meet the standards that were necessary.
Selection Criteria
Currently, Dr. Cook manages everything from payroll to appointment scheduling on his own. As a result, every minute that he saves through an efficient and intuitive EHR is that much more valuable to him. This is in part the reason he ruled out the other EHRs.
"What I was looking for was a software that allowed me to make my notes quickly and efficiently. I also wanted to be able to make templates specific to each patient," he explains. "I thought I wasn't going to find anything out there that would be suitable..."
That was until he tried CharmHealth EHR.
Using CharmHealth in Practice
Life After Implementation
Dr. Cook has noticed a significant increase in the productivity of his practice since implementing CharmHealth. He has even told other providers in his office about his success with it- "I tell them how suitable it has been for my practice. To one of the old-school providers in my office, I said, "if you're going to step up your practice, this is the company to do it with."
Ultimately, he says: "CharmHealth saves me time, which will allow me to make more money as soon as I open up the time in my schedule. At this point, I'm able to see more patients in a shorter amount of time and keep up-to-date on their notes really well. And it's all up in the cloud. I don't have to worry about anything. I have my laptop or iPad handy, and it is really efficient and easy to use."
