Chart notes are a crucial aspect of being a healthcare provider. Having an easy-to-use and trustworthy program helping you organize and store your electronic health records can be one of the main building blocks of running a successful practice. Listed here are some of the best charting software for Acupuncturists.
How To Find A Charting Software You Trust
Keeping clear, concise and secure Electronic Health Records (EHR) is essential if you are practicing medicine. Paper chart notes are a legal form of medical records, but they need to be kept for a minimum of 10 years (individual states my vary) after the last contact with the patient. Think of all the paper, storage space, and difficulty sharing notes for motor vehicle claims and other healthcare practitioners when utilizing paper charts!
There are many options for EHR, some of the best programs are all-in-one suites offering scheduling, payments, charting and billing.
There are also many types of acupuncture businesses; integrative clinics, privates practices, shared spaces etc., that all have individualized needs when it comes to software and charting. This article goes through a few of the best programs out on the market today, and highlights their specialized uses to keep you organized and professional.
8 Best Charting Software
Here are my top 8 picks as a professional acupuncturist…
AcuSimple
This program was created by acupuncturist for acupuncture businesses. It is an all-in-one practice management software, yet it does offer a scheduling only option as well. It has a full scheduling sector that can work for a private practice or with multiple practitioners, EHR, electronic insurance claims, Secure email communication between patient and practitioner, as well as claims and billing, and payment.
It uses PaySimple and Square to accept payment for a fee. It also comes with an Acupuncture point reference guide, herbal and formula guide as well as up to date CPT and IDC 10 codes, making it easy to chart and reference information. The program also can generate a wide range of income and annual reports. Many have said this program is the least user friendly (steep learning curve) but the cheapest for all the functionalities you get.
- Highlights-
- Created by Acupuncturists
- Acupuncture reference material built into program for ease of access during charting
- Affordable Pricing
- Pricing- There are 4 main tiers for pricing. Each extra practitioner account is $29 a month.
- Scheduling only option for $19.99 a month
- Basic for $59.99 a month,
- Plus for $69.99 a month,
- Premium for $79.99 a month.
CharmEHR
This HIPPA complaint software offers electronic health records, practice management, and integrative billing. It allows for customized templates or you have the option to use their formatted ones. It is not designed specifically with the Acupuncturist in mind, but more for healthcare professionals in general, as it has lab integrations an immunology registration options as well. It is relatively easy to use within the EHR segment, and host a wide variety of practice management options such as appointment scheduling and reminders, invoicing, credit card processing and appointment reminders.
- Highlights-
- Easy Customizable Templates
- Free charting for up to 50 chart notes per month (limited to 1000 patients)
- Pricing- They have two paid plans.
- The Encounter plan is $0.50 cents per notes with a $25 minimum (unlimited providers).
- The Provider plan is $350 per month per provider.
Unified Practice
This software was designed with the Acupuncturist in mind. There is an extensive TCM based reference section (Licensed Reference Library from Nigel Wiseman, Matt Callison, Materia Medica, and Paradigm Publishing), so all herbs, points etc. can be accessed quickly while you are interviewing or charting. They offer TCM specific templates and try to be as intuitive as possible to ease the interview and charting aspect of running a business. Their customer service is happy to help and easy to access for support.
- Highlights-
- Designed with the Acupuncturist in mind
- Extensive integrative Reference Material
- Great Customer Service
- Pricing- Pre-pay for the year to save 15% annually.
- Starter package is $59/ month (extra practitioners for $25)
- Enhanced package is $89/ month (extra practitioners $30) and offers more advanced financial reporting, SMS texting, more comprehensive reference library, Google Calendar Sync, Email Marketing Integration with Constant Contact, Claim List and Insurance Tracking.
- Premium plan costs $119/ month (extra practitioners $30) as well as unlimited Front Desk Staff and/or Biller accounts and Office Ally Billing. Integration.
Jane App
Booking, scheduling, billing, charting… this program does it all. They pride themselves on how simple their program is to use and how seamless the EHR is. This program can be used on a laptop, PC, iPads and tablets. Chart notes are able to be typed, dictated or handwritten into a patient’s chart, as well as being able to draw shorthand symbols and to add extra detail, and the option to allow video/pictures to be added to files. Shorthand typing prompts and easy to use templates make this program a breeze.
- Highlights-
- User Friendly
- Pricing- They offer 3 tiers of pricing
- Base $79 a month0- Comprehensive ( $25 per additional practitioner).
- Insurance $109 a month. Offers additional perks such as customizable coding, Superbill, Insurance Invoicing & Payment Tracking, Paper (CMS-1500) Claim Submissions, Insurance Card Photo Upload in Intake Forms.
- Corporate $399. Does not seem necessary for most Acupuncture businesses I am aware of.
Simple Practice
This practice management software also comes with perks such as a website developer, options for telehealth, scheduling, billing, and insurance. The customizable templates are said to be easy to use and are not specifically made with the acupuncturists in mind.
- Highlights-
- Comes with website developer
- User Friendly
- Pricing- All plans offer a 30 day free trial.
- Starter package is $29 a month.
- Essential is $69 a month offering appointment reminders and secure text messaging.
- Plus is $99 a month offering calendar syncing and 35 electronic claims monthly and the ability to add clinicians.
Acubliss
This software is an all-in-one program that offers online scheduling (waitlist, and patient notification), EHR (consent forms, HIPPA compliance), Herbal prescriptions, invoice/superbills, Inventory, and more. This program was designed by acupuncturists in mind so all the features such as SOAP notes and herbal prescriptions are specific to Chinese medicine. The scheduling option allows for booking one or multiple rooms.
- Highlights
- Designed with Acupuncturist in mind
- Extensive Herbal references/ prescritption aspect
- Pricing- They offer one plan-$49 per month plus $15 for each additional practitioner.
Practice Fusion
A practice management software that offers streamlined charting, customizable scheduler, integrated patient portal, and flexible billing options. Made more for medical doctors in mind, but can be a good option for an integrative clinic.
- Highlights-
- Great option for multi-discipline clinic.
- Pricing- $149 per month for up to 4 practitioners, or as they state upon the website- 1 provider license and 3 signing staff.
Noterro
This software offers it all. Charting, billing, scheduling, practice management and billing. Marketed for ease of access for Massage Therapists, Physiotherapist, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Acupuncturists, and Solo health care practitioners.
- Highlights-
- Designed with the Acupuncturist in mind
- Pricing-
- One practitioner starts at $25 a month, and up to $60 a month for all add-ons such as text messaging, call reminders, file uploads and integrative insurance billing options.
- $10 more a month for each extra practitioner.
Concluding Thoughts
Acupuncture businesses can range from private practice, single room establishments to integrative clinics with multiple disciplines and many rooms, so choosing the best charting software to meet your needs is essential. There is a variety of software to choose from to suit your needs.
Resources
- Patient Records. Oregon Medical Board. Accessed September 8, 2022.