Are you good with computers and like to help others? Medical assisting might be the right career for you. During the course of daily operations, at a physician’s office or medical facility, the medical assistant will learn to use medical software and electronic health records (EHRs). The use of medical software like PMS and EHRs is growing and the medical assistant will need to become comfortable using different software tools to manage patient interactions and medical information. A general comfort with learning new computer software interfaces and data entry dashboards is a must.
Medical software deals with the day-to-day operations of a medical practice. Medical software allows medical assistants the ability to keep electronic health records, capture patient demographics, schedule appointments, track patients, manage medical codes, perform billing tasks, manage claims and generate reports. Medical software can be purchased separately or as part of a software system. The main uses of medical software include:
Keeping Electronic Health Records – management of records is important, and many paper records are being converted to electronic records. Medical software allows the medical assistant to search millions of documents and find the right patient records in seconds rather than hours. These software packages can also streamline the transfer of medical records from one medical practice to another.
Appointment Scheduling – allows medical assistants to create and track upcoming patient visits. This function helps keep a medical facility or doctor’s office running smoothly and doctors continuously working.
Patient Tracking – medical software helps medical staff keep track of patients whether they are admitting, discharging, or checking them in at a doctor’s office or managing which departments a patient visits during an appointment. At urgent care and hospitals, medical assistants can keep track of the places a patient goes and what they need based on a physician’s diagnosis. The Software can also track prescriptions and treatment options.
Claims and Statements – this software reduces the time medical assistants spend on billing and claims. It also allows them to manage medical codes easier.
Manage Medical Codes – medical assistants are responsible for remembering many different coding systems for claims, record keeping, and billing. These coding systems include CPT, HCPCS and ICD-10. With the help of medical software, medical assistants can seamlessly add codes to patient records without rope memorization or cheat sheets that cover the computer monitor.
Reporting – reporting capabilities to allow medical assistants to extract detailed data on financial performance and patient financial history.
Electronic health records (EHRs) are being adopted by physicians, moving all their patient information from paper to electronic records. Medical assistants should learn the Electronic Health Record software to better manage patient records. Some of the benefits of training with EHRs for medical assistants include:
• Digital formatting of information to be shared over a secure network
• The ability to better decipher physicians’ hand-writing, minimizing mistakes
• Decreases billing processing time for a more accurate billing system
• Better tracking of care and outcomes
• Helps trigger warnings and reminders
• Easier to send and receive orders, reports, and results
An electronic health record (EHR) is an official health record for a patient that is managed with the use of medical software and shared among medical facilities and physicians. EHRs may record a range of data, including medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics and billing information.
EHR systems are designed to store data accurately and keep track of a patient over the life of care. The EHR system eliminates the need to track down a patient’s previous paper medical records making sure data is accurate and legible. The EHR system can reduce risk of data replication as there is only one modifiable file.
A medical assistant must learn to use medical software in the course of education and on the job training. Electronic health records (EHRs) play a vital role in the medical industry today and training to use electronic health records is vital for medical assistants to succeed. There are many different EHR software programs.
Saving time with medical software will not make medical assistant jobs obsolete, as many believe technology will do. This software will help medical assistants work much more efficiently and be available for the growth in the population and demand for healthcare. With the national demand for medical assistants growing 19 percent in the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, now is the time to become a medical assistant. It can be accomplished in as little as 9 months and you could be helping others as an essential worker on the frontlines.
Do you have an interest in both medicine and technology? Are you interested in learning more about medical assistant software training? PCI Health Training Center’s Medical Assistant program prepares a graduate to work as an entry-level Medical Assistant. PCI Health Training Center in Dallas & Richardson, Texas, is a private career training school committed to meeting the educational challenge of educating and graduating men and women who are qualified and job-ready for employment in the growing health care industry.
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For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who complete the program, and other important information, please visit our website at www.pcihealth.edu/consumer-information.
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