Free EHR Vs. Paid EHR – Which Is Better?
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Many free EHR systems are now available for healthcare providers who don’t want to spend a lot on it.
One thing to remember is that switching from one electronic health record system to another is not a feasible option. It will be very expensive, time consuming and complicated. And even then, it could cause many errors. Plus, it will make you go back to your meaningful use timeline. So, to make sure you make the right decision the first time, it is better to research and get to know the difference before diving in for the opportunity to buy the free EHR system.
The basic difference between them is that the free system is ad supported. This means that while you work, you will be shown advertisements by different medical vendors selling some or the other product related to the medical field. For some people, these advertisements are so distracting, that they would rather pay for the software than encounter them while they work while for others the distraction might be worth the cost savings.
However, this is not just the only difference between them. Free systems often don’t have the functionality and features that a paid one offers. Especially, you will often find that the free EHR system will not include an integrated billing module and so you will have to have two different systems. Plus, you won’t even be able to synchronize them (in most cases). Besides the functionality and add on features, it is the level of training and support you get from a paid EHR system that makes it stand out from the free one. Especially, as you would know already how much it is difficult to switch from paper recording to electronic health record, training and support is what most health care providers need, for sure.
These are the differences you should consider before you make any choice between the two.
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