Practice Fusion vs. Valant EHR

I think this is a great tool for a smaller practice, and I really like that it is not practice-specific. It seems like any type of doctor could use the site. I also think this is really great for remote workers because you are able to log on via the internet. I think that this tool would not be good for those looking to have a specific practice software. I've worked for other doctors alongside the one I used practice fusion for, and the other doctors used specialty specific software because of the customization to their job and charting.

Incentivized

Valant is a great space for front office to use in a patient/medical setting. I think it's best used on a small scale than a large scale. I have found it challenging at times with multiple locations and with about 3000 patients to keep track. Valant is excellent at record keeping, and communicating with the client via the patient portal. However, due to size and limited functionality - this would be hard to maintain for a larger scale.

Incentivized

• Organizes lab work for each patient. Its helpful for us to see a patient at a glance.
• Schedule appointments for patients.

Incentivized

• User Friendly - Valant is user friendly and easy to navigate
• Record Keeping - it allows you to upload docs and files within the patient charts to keep on file at all times.
• Scheduling - Easy to view and make/edit appointments
• Access Management - easy to set features viewable by specific people only such as physicians versus nonclinical
• Reporting - lots of reporting that can be used for a multitude of things from payment billing to notes, etc

Incentivized

• One of the biggest frustrations is that PF only imports PDFs of lab results, but does nothing to allow manipulation of the numbers within these PDFs. I can pull up lab results but can't look at a graph, for example, of trends in serum sodium or hematocrit.
• Like EPIC, it would be nice to have an option like scrolling to all the "***"s using F2, which I always try to do on PF until I realize it does not work.
• I wish PF had more dot phrases to pull in things like lab results, etc., into the note. Since I cannot copy and paste lab results (which are stored in PDF) or blow them in with a dot phrase, I have to manually re-write them, which leaves our notes more vulnerable to human error. If this feature DOES exist, it isn't obvious to me or anyone in our clinic.
• It would be really nice to hear from PF support to see if we had any unmet needs in the clinic so that they could educate us on how to better use this EMR to support those needs.

Incentivized

• BILLING- This is all Caps - There can be room for improvement in terms of billing efficiency
• Automatic Reporting - this would be beneficial to set up or have as a feature
• Billing Dashboard - to view all accounts that have matured or are outstanding
• Batch Posting - be it insurances or specific patients. Even Superbills cannot be "chosen" by specific people - it's all clients with balances that are active or no balances and all charges but nothing that says you want statements for say these 20 people.
• Appointment Recording - this could be more efficient versus one by one processing.

Incentivized

In my opinion and experience, they have a lack of customization so you have to constantly create hacks to make their system work for your practice.

It's very user friendly. The workspace is big, easy to read and navigate. Also, the resource knowledge base is great for when you have questions and there are several videos and guides for how to use or do something. I have had less than a year of using it and adopted it pretty quickly within the first 3 months.

Incentivized

We always get a return call within the time stated. There are many available topics on the forum and it is often easy to find the issue you are seeking more information on. When we have tried the live chat feature we have been satisfied with the timeliness and response.

Incentivized

The only other EMR I have used is EPIC. I worked as a scribe for PAMF, where I spent 50 hours a week in front of EPIC. I got to know it really well, and have used PF much less, so it is difficult to make a comparison. EPIC came with so many more options to view test results, visits to other health facilities, and past notes. It also had so many more ways you could format your notes, blow in data, and statistically analyze data. While EPIC is a much more comprehensive and well-supported EMR, it also would be too heavy and unnecessary for the small scale clinic work I do at a community clinic. I feel that each EMR has the environment they are well-suited for, and I am glad to be using PF now.

Incentivized

• PRO -- I know now what I need in an EMR/EHR
• CONS -- They have overcharged me and it has cost me money
• CONS-- They have disregarded my legal rights which makes me unsure of keeping confidential info in their systems and it will cost me money to switch
• CONS--They have cost me money with the time I've wasted to follow up on my own tickets that they refuse to follow up with

• Labor efficiency - this has been negative. Billing has had a lot of manual processes that unfortunately take up a lot of man hours - if this were improved, I could see a ROI that's positive
• Valant has been great at certain features including the "waitlist" to capture patients and improve our chances for revenue being increased

Incentivized