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Lab Interface

Lab Interface

What is a Lab Interface?

When a practice uses an EHR (like Criterions Software), a lab interface is the piece of software that allows one system to talk to another system.

One of the most integral elements of a clinical practice is the use of laboratory encounters for diagnostic and monitoring purposes. Ask any healthcare professional what they need in an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, and you’ll find that lab interfaces come highest on the list.

When laboratory orders are needed as part of a clinical visit, there are several steps in the process from the moment the orders are deemed necessary to the point that the result appears in the patient’s medical record.

Criterions Software has an ever-increasing list of Labs, Imaging Groups, and Public Health organizations to which you can connect your Criterions EHR.

Benefits of a Lab Integration with your EHR system includes:

  • Reduce staff workload
  • Decreased paper
  • Orders are sent electronically to labs
  • Ensure tracking of orders and results
  • Automatic receipt of results
  • Results are automatically filed in ordering provider’s queue
  • Results become data points
  • Results with Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) are automatically calculated with applicable MIPS measures

LOINC applies universal code names and identifiers to medical terminology related to electronic health records. The purpose is to assist in the electronic exchange and gathering of clinical results (such as laboratory tests, clinical observations, outcomes management, and research).

 

Did you know the lab clearing house may sponsor the interface for your practice (depending on lab volume)? Check with your local lab representative to verify. 

 

Please first reach out to your lab representative and to let them know you would like to establish an interface with Criterions EHR. Then, have them reach out to Criterions by emailing labs@criterions.com.

 

Effective Patient Interaction

Effective Patient Interaction

Effective patient interaction technologies can enhance the patient experience

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations across the country realized they needed to change their already stressed patient intake processes in order to lower the more immediate danger of transmission. This is when the need to minimize wait times first became apparent. According to data, protracted wait times frequently lead to a negative patient experience, which is something that every healthcare institution wishes to avoid. Many healthcare organizations and medical practices simultaneously were experiencing staffing issues.

Organizations that pivoted using portal automation and engagement tools saw decreases from 30-minute wait times on average to less than 10 minutes. Moreover, patient satisfaction was improving as patients were embracing the notion of participation in their own care, filling out paperwork online and at their convenience and in the comfort of their own homes. Here are just a few simple steps that can help to reduce wait times, help to improve patient satisfaction while at the same time helping to reduce cancellations and no-shows. And, as we know, a reduction in no show visits is also of financial benefit to the practice.

Three easy ways to streamline the patient check-in experience within Criterions:

Automated Appointment Reminders

Criterions’ Text Appointment Reminders act as an integrated tool for confirming appointments and enhancing communication between your office and your patients.

 

Electronic Intake Forms, Questionnaires, and Consent Forms

Criterions’ Patient Engagement Module provides the ability to send patients customized questionnaires, which can be linked to appointment type and sent automatically through the patient portal. Patients can fill out the form and sign for consent prior to their appointments and at their convenience. Completed and signed documents will then be available within the EHR.

 

Automated Check-In

Patients can receive a check-in confirmation text one hour prior to their scheduled appointment allowing them to confirm using their phones, thus starting the visit with your practice.

 

 

If you would like more information on how to set up automations within the Criterions EHR system to assist your office staff, please email SUPPORT HERE or fill out the form below and we'll be in touch shortly.

ePrescribing Cancel and Change Requests, Rx Fill Notifications

ePrescribing Cancel and Change Requests, Rx Fill Notifications

As we move forward in the interconnected healthcare space, phone calls between pharmacies and physicians are becoming a thing of the past. The tools you have today in your Criterions EHR system are sometimes overlooked but can be impactful to your practice workflow and patient care. Read below for more information about how to view the status of a script and the ability to make alterations to existing scripts which are available in your EHR system today!

Canceling a Prescription

You see a patient, assess their condition, and send off three prescriptions to the pharmacy. Later, lab results come in, and upon review you determine that one of the prescriptions is no longer valid and should be canceled. In the past this involved a phone call to the pharmacy and coordinating records. There is a better way. Your Criterions EHR has a Cancel Rx button. This allows you to send a cancel request from your system for the specific medication you would like to cancel. The pharmacy is notified, your records are updated, and the prescription is cancelled.

 

Change Requests From the Pharmacy

A patient arrives, and you determine they need a statin. You prescribe Lipitor and move on with your day. While trying to fill the prescription the pharmacist determines that the patient’s insurance won’t cover the brand name version. Pick up the phone again and call the practice? Not anymore. The pharmacist sends a ‘Change Request” to the practice where the doctor can see the requested change, approve, replace, or deny the change.

 

Rx Fill Notification

You prescribe a medication to control a patient’s blood pressure. The patient is scheduled for a follow-up visit in 1 month. A month later the patient returns, and their blood pressure has not improved, and upon inquiry you discover that the patient never filled the script! In the Criterions EHR system, you’ll know long before the patient returns if they’ve filled their script or not. When a pharmacy fills a prescription, they update that script in the national database. In the patient’s medication list, there is a link to Rx Fill which will update the patient’s medications with the fill records, notifying you to the status of the patient’s prescription.

 

 

These new tools help ensure that you have the information you need to manage your patient’s care as effectively, and efficiently, as possible.

If you would like more information on these features or would like to be shown how to use them, please email SUPPORT HERE and we'll be in touch shortly. 

 

The Importance of Customizable EHR Systems

The Importance of Customizable EHR Systems

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we must be flexible and adaptable in order to deal with unforeseen situations. Since the healthcare industry in our country was severly affected, it was crucial for healthcare providers to have EHR software that could shift, alter, and adapt with them. Let's take a look at some of the advantages of implementing a customized EHR software.

1. Tailored To the Office's Functionality 

One of the main advantages of a customizable EHR is that it is modified to the functionality of the office. If the operations change from face-to-face communication to remote video or phone communication, the software can accommodate that with the use of new templates and visit codes for patient examination and bill generation. 

 

2. Improved Office Workflow 

Another important advantage of customizable EHR software is the system's better usability by staff members who, depending on their EHR provider, have a say in how it's customized to their particular activities and jobs. This improves workflow efficiency by saving time and reducing unnecessary clicks when recording patient data. 

 

3. Increased Provider and Patient Experience 

A practice can better meet the needs of their patients and address their issues with a customized EHR system than it can with a generic one. Thanks to tools, templates, and other features built specifically for different specialities, custom EHR systems offers more intuitive user interfaces than pre-built records systems. The system reads patterns and provides auto-fill suggestions, which help to boost patient-doctor facetime while decreasing time spent recording data the possible human error. 

 

 

A tailored EHR system enables reduced annoyance for staff, physicians, and patients. It also allows for greater data quality acquisition and improved practice workflow, all of which contribute to a better overall experience for all parties involved. 

 

If you would like more information on how Criterions can provide a budget friendly customizable EHR system for your practice, please fill out the form below.

Webinar: Criterions Patient Portal Review & Patient In-Take Add-Ons

In this webinar, our Associate Product Manager, James Keener, walked our customers through the full capabilities of the Criterions Patient Portal, what your patients can complete before and after their appointments, sending consent forms and questionnaires directly from the EHR system, and more! Watch to learn more about the new patient intake modules and how they can benefit you and your staff today. If you don't have the consent form & questionnaire modules yet, contact sales below to get started!

Request a Demo!