Technology has come a long way in the last 10 years. And because of the advancements made, medical practices are not only able to provide their patients with better treatments, but they can also provide their businesses with the solutions they need to maximize time, data and profitability.
But with so many technology systems available, finding the best ones to utilize at your practice may seem like a daunting task. A tool is only as good as its user, and we want to provide you with the helpful information you need to figure out which tools your business needs.
We’ve worked with hundreds of practices across the nation, and have noticed that the majority of healthcare practices are utilizing their EMR’s incorrectly.
In this blog post, we’re going to be identifying the major differences between an EMR and a CRM, and how to utilize them effectively.
What’s A CRM?
A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a critical small business management asset. It stores data about current and potential patients, analyzes all customer interactions and facilitates communication between you and your patients.
Why CRMs Are Vital:
Organization: Have you noticed that information about your patients tends to be scattered all over the place – social media platforms, buried deep in one of your email inboxes, stored as a sticky note on a desk, etc? When that information isn’t organized properly, it becomes more difficult to get a clear understanding of your patients, which makes creating a marketing strategy that will accurately reflect your patients’ needs impossible. CRM’s solve this issue by collecting and organizing data from a business’s resources, such as their website, social media platforms and email marketing systems and storing them in one, easy to use, place.
They also help practices make use of their data by offering chat tools, marketing automation and contact management. This means that tracking leads and prospects as they move through a marketing funnel, from the first touchpoint to the sale, becomes effortless.
Simply put, a CRM is to the business-end of your practice what an ERM is to the medical side.
If your practices is experiencing the symptoms below, you should consider adopting a CRM:
- Communication with your patients is scattered between multiple systems like social media platforms, email inboxes, sticky notes, EMRs and more.
- Your marketing and sales strategies aren’t aligned and get slowed down by redundant tasks.
- You’ve had a hard time retaining patients, or too many leads fail to convert.
- You’re spending valuable hours to manually reach out to your patients and losing the time you need to actually treat them.
What’s An EMR?
An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is a digital version of all the information you’d typically find in a provider’s paper chart: allergies, lab results, notes, medical history, etc. But EMRs are more than just digital replacements to paper records. They allow communication and coordination among members of a healthcare team for better patient care.
The Problem
Most Practices Use Their EMRs As CRMs
We’ve worked with close to 900 medical practices across the U.S. and we’ve noticed a popular trend. Most practices utilize their EMR as a CRM, which vastly complicates their marketing efforts.
A CRM is to the business-end of your practice what an ERM is to the medical side. Just as an ERM allows you to effectively track your patients’ medical histories, areas that require treatment and more, a CRM can help you identify and treat the business symptoms your practice is experiencing.
Tasks A CRM Can Complete That An ERM Can’t:
- Automate Email Outreach
- Automate Booking & Appointment Reminders
- Track Patient Relationships
- Optimize Patient Acquisition
- Coordinate Sales Processes
- Monitor Online Reputation
- Automate Task Management
- And More!
If you are currently using your ERM as a CRM, or simply want to learn more about how a CRM can benefit your practice, we highly recommend you watch the video below.