Top 3 Dermatology EHR Systems

Dermatology as a practice area has advanced over the years to represent a unique niche of healthcare incorporating not only traditional healthcare services, but also skin treatments that were originally found in the beauty and spa marketplace. Therefore, dermatology practices serve a diverse client base whose practices vary widely in size and often performing a broad range of procedures on a high volume of patients. Given these characteristics, dermatology EHR vendors who wish to stay competitive in this market must offer systems with a more diverse and advanced functionality than the garden variety EHR. The three EHRs reviewed here represent how dermatology-specific EHRs are meeting this demand.

1. EZDERM

EZDERM’S dermatology-specific product offers an advanced EHR platform with a broad range of features including a streamlined and customizable progress note taking function, flexible documentation, mobile and workstation based clinical decision support. EZDERM decision support covers over 3,000 different anatomical locations, 2,500 dermatologic conditions, as well as medication and interactions data. Problem tracking and image capturing and management software are provided for use on mobile devices.

EZDERM’S main value proposition rests in its 3D Body Maps system, which offers a visual interface with over 3,000 anatomical locations.

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2. Nextech

Nextech offers a fully integrated dermatology EHR and practice management system with customizability representing one of the platform’s main selling points. The system allows dermatology practices to use out of the box pre-configured templates or customize their system to accommodate unique workflows. For smaller practices, scaled up clinics or alternative service providers, the system allows practices to customize the EHR to accommodate their dermatology setting.

Further, Nextech EHR offers mobile capabilities allowing clinical data to be inputted and transferred to the main system. For practices attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 3 in the future, the system offers patient engagement functionality to allow for records management, patient education, and appointment management.

3. EMA Dermatology

EMA Dermatology EHR allows providers to complete documentation in real time through its Virtual Exam Room™ that allows for tasks such as scribing notes, automating pathology labs, prescriptions, patient education and coding to be carried out through an intuitive mobile interface. EMA also offer an adaptive learning engine that acts as a driver for streamlining data input. The adaptive learning function dovetails into EMA Dermatology’s overall selling point of “creating efficiencies” in dermatology practices.

The touch-based interface is reported by the vendor to “consistently save 60 to 90 seconds on every patient they see.” In addition to its EHR system, EMA Dermatology offers a dermatology-specific revenue cycle management and inventory management providing inventory, billing and revenue monitoring capabilities.

When compared to other EHR markets dermatology is ahead of the curve in terms of advanced functionality and its ability to mold is software to the nuances of niche practices. In this sense, those shopping for a dermatology EHR will likely not be satisfied with a general EHR shoehorned into a dermatology setting given the exceptional range of dermatology-specific products available.