10 Reasons Why EHRs Are More Practical Than Paper Records

Electronic Health Records Software (EHRs) are a smarter way to keep and access client records in a clinical setting. EHR systems are great at many tasks, such as managing records, coordinating client care, and easing administrative burdens. The world has gone digital, and therapists will need to keep up with the changing times. Many difficult and boring tasks can now be done by machines, allowing you to focus on client’s care.

In this article, we will explore 10 reasons why EHRs are much better than traditional paper records for practical use.

1. Accessibility

EHRs are better than paper records because they make it easier to access and share client files. It can be frustrating for clients to watch healthcare practitioners search through many case files. This situation can make clients feel like just another number in a long list. EHRs help therapists stay organized through quicker access.

Unlike paper records, which are stuck in one place, EHRs can be accessed from anywhere at any time. This means you can continue sessions during emergencies or when you're away. For example, if you're traveling for a conference, cloud-based storage lets you access session notes and treatment goals on the go.

2. Increased Data Security

Cloud-based EHR systems are better than traditional paper records because they keep health data in one safe place. They have more security measures to protect this information. Paper records pose the risk of loss, theft, and damage due to possible third-party access. In contrast, EHRs use a special security method that requires users to prove their identity even after they enter the correct password. The cloud-based system also has automated backup and multiple storage location features.

EHRs also help to control the level of access to client documents. This helps to keep access to non-clinical staff on a need-to-know level. In therapy, where keeping information private is very important, this practice makes sure that confidentiality is protected by allowing access based on each staff member's role. Paper records, on the other hand, give all information to administrative staff, from client history to diagnosis and billing information. This is far from HIPAA-compliant practice.

3. Customization Options

EHRs let therapists use custom templates to help them with tasks like writing progress notes, creating treatment plans, and making decisions based on data. Paper records are rather limited in scope, and only able to make documentation in a generic style.

EHR systems like Mentalyc offer templates that fit different types of therapy sessions, such as intake meetings, individual therapy, family therapy, and progress evaluations. Mentalyc EHR software is an AI Note-taking App that gives room for flexible and adaptable note formats, such as SOAP or DAP.

4. Enhancing Client Engagement

EHR systems have client portals where people can book appointments, fill out forms, make payments, and give feedback all in one place. This helps reduce the stress of many administrative tasks that can slow down therapy.

Your clients can also participate in their treatment by reviewing shared documents or setting personal goals within the portal. According to a scoping review of the impact on sharing electronic health records with clients with mental health conditions, it was found that EHRs enable clients to better trust their therapist. It also helped clients gain a better understanding from care partners.

Some EHRs also create catchy and eye-pleasing progress reports for the clients to stay in the know of their progress. This could be anything from charts to bar graphs. An example of this is a bar chart showing the growth trends in response to an introduced therapy technique.

This feature makes EHRs much better than paper-based documentation, which requires a lot of staff to be in different places in a healthcare facility. In paper-based systems, you make payments in one place and receive care in another. EHR prevents this by eliminating the boring legwork.

5. Reporting and Data Analysis

According to research comparing the efficiency of documentation between electronic health records and traditional paper records, it was reported that EHRs were 40% more complete and 20% easier to retrieve.

As a mental health therapist, EHR systems help you keep track of important things. This includes how well clients are doing, their progress, and details such as client information, session attendance, treatment success, and billing patterns.

This helps you to save cost, energy, and time that would have been spent if you had to make sense of data obtained from long pages of paper records. This may not even be possible as the client's insurance may not cover such a level of care detail.

6. Reduction of Human Error

People naturally make mistakes. This can cause problems with paper records in several ways, like documents being filed incorrectly, names being misspelled, handwriting that’s hard to read, wrong dates and times, and missing or repeated updates.

Automating these tasks with EHRs makes sure that sensitive client information is handled properly. Features like alerts for updating consent forms, notifications for lab results, and reminders for follow-ups help prevent mistakes in mental health treatment.

EHRs can also send automatic reminders to therapists and clients about upcoming appointments. It helps reduce missed appointments and improves attendance.

Unlike traditional paper systems, where therapists have to remember everything about each client’s treatment and follow-ups, EHRs act like reliable assistants, helping therapists do their best work.

7. Real-Time Updates

EHRs help therapists by giving real-time updates. For instance, on-the-go note-taking by the therapist while the session is going on, documenting the progress, and making plans related to the case at hand. These updates are automatically saved and protected.

When clients need to see another healthcare provider or change therapists, EHRs safely send their information to different systems while keeping it private with encryption.

This quick access to data helps therapists make fast decisions and adjust treatment, which isn’t possible with the slow process of finding paper records.

Therapy sessions with clients where multiple adjustments occur could create a messy look when using paper. This slows down the work process for both the present therapist and possible future ones. These adjustments on paper may further introduce inaccuracies.

8. Cost Savings

Electronic Health Records save money for therapy practices because they are easier to use and maintain. They also avoid the future costs of storage devices for paper records. In paper-based systems where data is stored on paper or CDs, increased costs of these devices make them more expensive to maintain. Added to the maintenance cost is the money paid to administrative staff, documenting and securing the data.

A therapist using an EHR can automate the billing and scheduling of appointments. This allows them to see more clients each day. This increased capacity leads to higher revenue without extra costs.

Even though the first cost of EHR software can be high, long-term savings from better efficiency and less paperwork help to make up for the money spent.

9. Growth and Scalability

Usually, paper records become hard to manage as the practice grows. It becomes harder for storage space to keep up, and finding specific files becomes a constant source of stress and time-wasting. Also, a bulky amount of paper files begins to fill up spaces and become environmental concerns. This leads to a need for file disposal, which may cause the loss of files that may be useful in the future.

In contrast to the messy way of keeping records, EHR systems grow easily with a private practice. They can handle more data without slowing down and keep files stored and backed up for future use.

10. Regulatory Compliance

Therapists always have to ensure that clients’ information is protected at all times. Paper-record keeping makes it difficult to keep up with both old and new regulatory standards. Issues with keeping data safe, tracking it, and properly getting rid of it make paper-based systems worse than modern cloud-based systems.

EHR systems include built-in rules to follow laws and regulations, with features like audit trails, fingerprint sign-ins, and data encryption for security. This makes them better suited to modern practice, which is increasingly more data-sensitive. For example, a GDPR right of easy client data portability is easier to apply using an EHR system than a traditional paper-based one.

Mentalyc is a top example of an EHR platform that meets regulatory measures, including insurance and HIPAA.

Conclusion

Even though many health practitioners still use traditional paper systems, trying out Electronic Health Records Softwares (EHRs) can be very beneficial.

EHRs make it easier to understand progress reports for both clients and therapists. They also help prevent serious problems from losing data or accidents. Crucially, they save therapists time, money, and effort while helping them follow the best practices in their profession and enhancing client care.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do Clients Benefit from EHR Systems?

Clients are kept informed in the healthcare process. They can easily access their health information where necessary. Clients’ data are well-secured, and the quality of care is improved.

What Are the Main Advantages of EHRs Over Paper Records?

Electronic Health Records provide a better option in terms of speed, accuracy, and quality of documentation. They also make healthcare a collaborative process, a modern trend in caregiving. Therapists are also able to direct greater attention to each client even with heavy caseloads.

What EHR Tool is Best?

Mentalyc is one of the top-rated AI-powered tools that records sessions and therapy notes. It also saves you documentation time.

References

Schwarz, J., Bärkås, A., Blease, C., Collins, L., Hägglund, M., Markham, S., & Hochwarter, S. (2021). Sharing clinical notes and electronic health records with people affected by mental health conditions: Scoping review. JMIR Mental Health, 8(12), e34170. https://doi.org/10.2196/34170

Tsai, J., & Bond, G. (2007). A comparison of electronic records to paper records in mental health centers. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 20(2), 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm064