Electronic Health Records (EHR) or EMR (Electronic Medical Records) serve as the source of truth across today's health systems. By design EHR systems save clinicians valuable time and energy by automating patient management processes such as electronic prescription renewal and processing claims data. Learn why selecting the proper EHR payment integration system is important when implementing your patient management plan.

What is payment integration?

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Payment integration means having your primary form of collecting healthcare payments connected to your Practice Management Software and Electronic Health Records (EHR) system. 

Payment integration keeps your payments in the same electronic space as your EHR patient records and medical billing. Having everything housed under one roof makes the client journey and accounting process much smoother. 

Why EHR payment integration is important

EHR payment integration is important because it allows the EHR system to function correctly from the beginning of the process. It seamlessly enables your EHR payment platform to “talk” to your EHR billing or patient records platform. This allows for effortless accounting operations and easier patient tracking. 

One of the biggest advantages of accepting EHR payments is that it can be done online upon check-in of telehealth visits. Doing so alleviates any payment issues that might otherwise occur. 

Without EHR payment integration, EHR medical billing can get a bit messy. You have to rely on patients remembering to pay their bills on time or in office, which too often does not happen. This results in reminders having to be sent via US postal service, which means spending additional time, effort, and money. 

Accepting payment in advance also reduces the number of no-show appointments and eliminates unpaid bills. The healthcare provider also does not need to send patients to collections. And collections are both costly and timely – without any guarantee that payment will be collected at the end. 

It also provides prompt payment at the time of service - allowing it to be a better business model for providers looking to grow. 

On top of that, EHR payment integration allows providers to keep the entirety of a patient’s information in one electronic location.

And it’s also easier for the patient. There is also no need to write checks and mail in payments, saving the patient the cost of envelopes and stamps. Along with the fact that with mail, there are always inevitable delays. 

Not having an integrated system can:

• Leave more room for human error
• Waste precious time trying to match payments to corresponding bills
• Leave a practice more open to a data breach of payment information

EHR platforms work diligently to have the latest and safest technology to keep patient information safe and secure, including all payment information.

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How does EHR payment integration work?

EMR payment or EHR payment integration is more straightforward than one might think. Once in place, operations take no more training than any other system. Integrating EHR payments with platforms such as Healthie have a small learning curve, so anyone can learn it quickly. 

To start, EHR payment integration allows for credit and debit cards, HSA, and FSA cards to be safely and securely stored for future use. Also, the system can keep multiple cards on file in case a patient wants to use both HSA and credit cards for payment. 

The provider can enter payment information manually or upload it automatically via the Patient Intake Flow (i.e., patient onboarding). 

Patient Packages can be built to charge for bundled services or programs. They can also apply promo codes for discounts and set up one-time or recurring payments. 

When collecting a credit or debit card payment, it can be collected at the time of service or scheduled for a later date. For those who still desire to pay by cash or check, it is easy to record payment for these alternative payment methods. 

Can EHR be used for billing?

A patient management system can be integrated to handle EHR billing– allowing for insurance billing. It also generates a list of services rendered into a Superbill to submit to the insurance company for reimbursement. The EHR billing function can also create bills for patients outside of insurance. 

Integrating the EHR billing function with the EHR payment function makes the accounting process more timely and efficient for everyone involved. 

All of this combined makes EHR payment integration the optimal tool for saving both time and money. It is well worth the investment to avoid payment headaches, stay organized and grow a practice that helps as many people as possible.

For EHR billing integration, it can be beneficial to utilize a practice management platform like Healthie — which can integrate your insurance billing tool and EHR in one convenient place.