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Getting to Know Your EHR System: What to Try During Your Free Trial

We understand that small, independent medical practices have specific needs for tools and technology that can help their practices thrive. It is critically important to understand exactly what a product or service has to offer before a long-term financial commitment is made. That’s why Practice Fusion offers a free trial where you can create user accounts, sign on, and experiment with the platform’s features. In fact, Practice Fusion is the only electronic health record (EHR) system to offer a free trial prior to making an informed purchase decision. We think it’s essential for you to have the opportunity to try out the EHR system to make sure it suits your needs.

Of course, a free trial is only valuable if you make use of it. So, we wanted to give you some tips to help you get started. Read on to learn how to get the most out of your two-week free EHR trial.

Add new users for a more efficient workflow

Giving all eligible staff access is the first step in getting the most from your Practice Fusion free EHR trial. Adding all practice members as users will help you create a fully functional test run.

Once Practice Fusion has been set up for your practice, any practice administrator can add or remove users. To add a new user, the practice administrator need only:1

  • Enter the new user’s contact information
  • Designate permissions
  • Provide the new user with the Practice Access Code, which they will need to finish setting up their account

If a user has login issues, the practice administrator is also able to help reset passwords.1 (It’s recommended that you set up at least two practice administrators, in case one needs to have their password reset.)2

For complete step-by-step instructions for adding new users to your Practice Fusion Trial, visit “How do I add, edit, or remove users/staff in my practice?” You can also see “As a new user, how can I login to an existing practice for the first time?” to help new users with login issues.

Prepare for e-Prescribing verification

e-Prescribing can help eliminate the administrative burden caused by handwritten and telephone prescriptions. e-Prescribing streamlines the prescription process with services such as:3, 4

  • Allowing providers to send multiple medication orders in one e-prescription
  • Automatically delivering notifications for failed e-prescriptions
  • Streamlining height and weight observations by automatically attaching required information to order summaries
  • Streamlining the refill request process

The signup process for e-Prescribing utilizes the ID verification service ID.me to verify each provider’s identity and medical credentials. Providers’ personal information is used only to verify identity. During your two-week free trial, you may choose to begin this verification process. Once you complete your subscription with Practice Fusion, you will be able to fully implement the e-Prescribe functionality, allowing you to:3

  • Fulfill refill requests with as few as two clicks
  • Submit prior authorizations electronically
  • Reduce phone calls to the pharmacy

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the e-Prescribing signup process, visit “How do I sign up for eRx (e-Prescribing)?” For information on checking the status of a provider’s e-Prescribing verification process, see “What is the status of my eRx (e-Prescribing) request?”

Request integration with labs and imaging centers

After subscribing to Practice Fusion, you can integrate with laboratories and imaging centers. Doing so allows you to manage lab and imaging orders more efficiently because you can manage them directly within the EHR system, eliminating the faxing and printing labor associated with manual orders. You can begin the integration process by requesting labs and imaging centers during your free two-week trial. Once labs and imaging centers have been integrated after you purchase a subscription to Practice Fusion, you can receive results directly within the EHR system. You can also easily share results with patients who are enrolled in Patient Fusion, Practice Fusion’s patient portal.5-7

Practice Fusion facilitates connecting with existing lab accounts and to suggest labs not already connected with Practice Fusion.5 See “How do I sign up for a lab integration?” for step-by-step instructions.5

Once a lab has been set up, providers can create orders for lab tests directly within the patient chart portion of the EHR. (Time-saving tip: If you have previously ordered lab work for a patient, the order will automatically pre-populate from your last selected order.)

At any point in the ordering process, you can save the order as a template. Templates allow providers to save frequently ordered tests for easy access. They also allow providers to associate frequently used diagnoses with a template. Then, when the template is selected during the ordering process, the order will automatically populate with associated diagnoses and lab work for the template selected.8

For additional information on creating lab orders, visit “How do I add or create a lab order?”

Integrating with your designated imaging center is very similar to integrating with your laboratory. As with laboratories, you can connect with existing imaging center accounts or suggest an imaging center not currently connected with Practice Fusion. For step-by-step instructions, see “How can I connect to imaging centers?”

Track and report for CMS Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)

The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is one of two programs used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reward high-value, high-quality clinicians with payment increases while, at the same time, decreasing payments delivered to clinicians who fail to meet performance standards.9, 10 MIPS is used to determine Medicare Part B payment adjustments under the Quality Payment Program. It is based on eligible clinicians’ participation and performance levels.9, 11

There are three performance categories for which data needs to be tracked and submitted for the 2021 MIPS performance year:12

  • Quality: Most clinicians must select and collect data for six measures
  • Improvement activities: Most clinicians must select and report on two to four activities, performing each for a continuous 90-day period
  • Promoting interoperability: Most clinicians must collect data on the required measures using Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) for a continuous 90-day period

Performance in these categories is used to help determine clinicians’ MIPS Final Score. When eligible clinicians’ MIPS scores are calculated, then they can receive a positive payment adjustment, negative payment adjustment, or neutral payment adjustment. A clinician’s MIPS payment adjustment based on performance during the 2021 performance year will be applied to payments beginning on January 1, 2023.12

Practice Fusion provides clinicians with an easy-to-manage tool for tracking progress in the three MIPS performance categories that require submission for the 2021 reporting year: the MIPS Dashboard. This tool enables clinicians to record data for quality and promoting interoperability categories and attest for improvement activities. It also helps users to monitor their performance on the MIPS measures.13 To learn more about how to access and use the MIPS Dashboard, visit “How does the MIPS Dashboard work?” (Please note: this article contains some information from the MIPS 2019 performance year, but your Practice Fusion trial has been updated with 2021 information.)

Make the most effective use of your free EHR trial

An EHR system that aligns with your practice’s needs can change the way your office operates. Take advantage of Practice Fusion’s free EHR trial and get to experience all the different tools it has to offer. Learn all the ways Practice Fusion can help your practice run more efficiently and smoothly, with fewer opportunities for error, and understand for yourself how Practice Fusion can help your practice save both time and money.

References:

  1. How do I add, edit, or remove users/staff in my practice? Practice Fusion. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-do-I-add-edit-or-remove-users-staff-in-my-practice.
  2. What are Administrator (Admin) permissions? Practice Fusion. Updated September 8, 2020. Accessed April 13, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/What-are-Administrator-Admin-permissions.
  3. How do I sign up for eRx (e-Prescribing)? Practice Fusion. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-do-I-sign-up-for-eRx-e-Prescribing.
  4. Get the most out of ePrescribing. Practice Fusion. Updated January 4, 2021. Accessed April 12, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/Preview-the-improvements-to-electronic-prescribing-eRx-in-your-EHR.
  5. How do I sign up for a lab integration? Practice Fusion. Updated April 9, 2021. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-do-I-sign-up-for-a-lab-integration.
  6. How can I connect to imaging centers? Practice Fusion. Updated October 14, 2020. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-can-I-connect-to-imaging-centers.
  7. What is Patient Fusion (patient portal)? Practice Fusion. Updated February 7, 2019. Accessed April 13, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/What-is-Patient-Fusion-patient-portal.
  8. How do I add or create a lab order? Practice Fusion website. Updated June 4, 2020. Accessed April 13, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-do-I-add-or-create-a-lab-order.
  9. CMS. Quality Payment Program Overview. CMS. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://qpp.cms.gov/about/qpp-overview.
  10. Quality Payment Program: What is the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)? Practice Fusion. Updated October 23, 2018. Accessed April 13, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/Quality-Payment-Program-What-is-the-Merit-Based-Incentive-Payment-System-MIPS.
  11. CMS. Reporting Options Overview. CMS. Accessed April 10, 2021, https://qpp.cms.gov/mips/reporting-options-overview.
  12. Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2021 MIPS Quick Start Guide (CMS) (2021).
  13. How does the MIPS Dashboard work? Practice Fusion. Updated June 25, 2020. Accessed April 13, 2021, https://help.practicefusion.com/s/article/How-does-the-MIPS-Dashboard-work.