Practice Management Systems

What they do

Practice management systems (PMSs) essentially digitize the “business” aspects of medicine. They help providers manage visit coding, billing, scheduling, encounter form generation and registration.

Who is using them

On the health IT spectrum, PMSs are the most commonly adopted products and are relatively easy to implement. That’s why many providers who have not yet implemented other types of health IT are already using PMSs.

What they require

The key to a successful PMS is tight integration between all major office systems. If information is updated in one system, it should also update in all other systems. Having tight integration between your systems will not only avoid duplicate entry of information, it will also improve patient care and streamline practice management.

Things to consider

Many EHR systems include a practice management module, which automatically ensures tight integration while addressing many of the task mentioned above (e.g., coding, billing, scheduling). If you’re not an advanced user, you may want to consider this type of system.