Epic vs. Therap Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Epic is very good on the medical side and continues improving mental health and dental care. Having integrated telehealth via Zoom was a game-changer. During COVID, it was vital to have telehealth options and to ensure it was completely HIPAA Compliant and easy to document inside their health record.

Incentivized

Therap is best used by persons who primarily work on a computer. This would include administrative work and supervisors or direct care staff who work in a group environment and enter documentation on the computer. While there is minimal room to adjust any of the forms to reflect agency specific documentation, the form templates themselves offer flexibility within the template. The exception being that whatever standard one uses for measurement must be carried out throughout the form to which the measurement standard is attached. Much of the documentation entered into the system must occur in the browser making access through a mobile devise cumbersome. The daily documentation (ISP Programs, T-logs and MARS) are available on the mobile app itself and is pretty straight forward. In this regard persons who work in the field including any supervisory staff in the field can enter documentation easily on this app. There are significant limitations though in that there is no ability to save a return to a form and the default time out is 30 minutes.

Pros: EVV, all inclusive EHR including plans, documentation, forms, MAR and more, excellent reports to capture data across all documents, Ability to export reports by PDF and Excel, provides good training, feedback, and communicates disruptions to the system as well as a walk through of updates made to the system.

Cons: browser access is not mobile friendly, scheduling is cumbersome, inability to save as you go, inability to create plans for the same service year for multiple services, no time out warning on the mobile app.

Incentivized

• There are doctors' notes templates with prepopulated fields in them. This saves a lot of time.
• Epic sends medication orders to pharmacies electronically so that we do not have to call. This saves a lot of time.
• Epic has a Secure Chat feature via which we can send HIPAA protected messages to any employee with the patient's name and record attached.
• It has a PDMP link. We can look up what controlled medications such as opiates patients have been prescribed and by whom.
• It links to MyChart, which is a platform via which patients can look up their own information without them having to call the doctors. This saves a lot of time.

Incentivized

• Therap has some very nice reports to track billing, documentation, end user activities, and much more!
• Therap did not disappoint in a smooth EVV process.
• Therap's billing is program works quite well.
• The alerting system works very well particularly for alerting T-log entries (we use this for our incident reporting)
• To be fair, they have a number of documentation tools that are very helpful (seizure logs, food diary, medical appointments and so much more) on the browser version of the program.

Incentivized

• Visual Updates: While Epic is constantly improving the user experience, there are a few features that still need a design refresh. While this does not effect functionality, it does have an impact on user perception.
• Ordering: While placing an order for a physician is very easy, a few changes to the workflow could improve the experience for physicians.

Incentivized

• We provide a number of services to the same individual. VA requires a separate plan (ISP) for each service. Therap only allows one plan that covers a specific date and will not permit overlap.
• Because we provide supplemental services, most of our employees are field workers and rely on a table to access the record and enter documentation. the mobile app is very limited in what the user can document (T-Logs, MARs, and ISP Data). The browser version is far to cumbersome to use on a tablet and only the browser version contains some of the other useful documentation tools.
• Employees cannot save and return to data that has been entered. It must be completed in one setting before timing out.
• The mobile app times out in 30 minutes without warning creating issues with documentation not being saved.
• Scheduling is a nightmare. It is cumbersome and difficult to navigate. It does not seamlessly roll schedules over. It is also impossible for management to adjust schedules when away from a computer as the browser version (required to change schedules) is not mobile friendly and difficult to navigate on a phone or tablet.
• There is no measure available to prevent 'clocking out" before documentation is entered. This can create a logistical and time consuming processes to reconcile the billing and pay.

Incentivized

It is beyond measure the best EHR on the market.

Incentivized

You should invest time into taking a training class before using Epic, but once you get the hang of it the usability features are endless! My favorite part about Epic is how it is automated and "trained" to catch user errors that would typically be missed in normal documentation/charting. This ensures accuracy and eliminates errors.

Incentivized

The initial training was good but would have been even better had I been more familiar with the system before taking it. I found learning how to deal with Epic while working in the field at the same time was a (pardon the pun) Epic learning curve. I really think there should be a scribe who does the data entry and others can focus on what they do best.

Incentivized

Well-vetted lesson plans that teach you what you need to know for success.

Incentivized

While not as effective as in-person training, it is still adequate.

Incentivized

Epic has a regimented implementation process that ensures a successful go-live.

Incentivized

Epic gives extensive customization options in terms of utility and view. I have found this to be highly useful and efficient EHR as compared to other EHRs we use in our organization.

The products that we have researched and used int he past are not listed as available options.

Lauris Online - completely customizable EHR system based on templates the agency uses. The process is cumbersome though in that each form has to be submitted to production with a wait time to go live up to 6 weeks. This can be challenging to business who have the ability to work on the fly and correct forms as they see fit. The reports are also challenging.

MITC - Capriccio Elite, LLC currently uses this program to supplement the pieces of Therap that do not work for us. This include a robust workforce management program (times sheet, clock in and out, documentation with ability to save, a number of alerts letting management know of no shows or late arrivals, completely mobile friendly, prohibits clocking out until documentation is complete, ease of use for administrators to make changes on a computer or mobile device.

Incentivized

• Being able to track and document all of our services in the same place has made an exceptional improvement in continuity of patient care, both internally across departments (medical/dental/mental health) and externally with specialists and other healthcare organizations on a national scale.
• Continuous improvements in Data reporting and analytics make tracking and implementing quality improvement measures throughout the year easy.
• Massive improvements to the ELLA training platform, combined with detailed and interactive training materials for all system areas, make onboarding and staff training much easier!

Incentivized

• The cost of the program is fantastic and doable for start up business to large operations
• Because of the price, it is easy to ignore Therap's deficits so long as there are other options available to fill in the gaps
• ROI on the time (= money) it takes to reenter information due to unannounced time outs creates dissatisfaction with the workforce and additional administrative time to walk through it
• ROI on time (= money) it takes to assure there is a match between clocking in and out and time entered on the billable documentation is pretty substantial. An agency can easily find itself under billing or over paying staff.

Incentivized