5 Reasons why Healthcare Professionals should Build their own EMR

In the healthcare industry, strong and secure health information technology is an essential tool for healthcare professionals throughout all healthcare systems. Electronic medical records (EMRs) enable healthcare providers to record, store, and access electronic health records in a digital format. This information includes immunizations, patient demographics, medical history, diagnostic test results, current health information, medications, and other vital information that is essential for providing quality care to patients.

Traditionally, EMR software was developed and managed by professional developers with specialized skills in software development. However, no-code platforms are now available that allow healthcare professionals to build their EMRs without the need for technical expertise. No-code platforms enable healthcare professionals to customize EMRs to meet the specific needs of their practice, improving workflows, data accuracy, and patient care.

Why Healthcare Providers Should Build Their Own System for Electronic Health Records

Building their own EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system can offer several advantages to healthcare professionals, such as:

1. Customization

Customization is one of the most significant benefits of building EMRs with no-code. Healthcare professionals can create forms, workflows, and data visualizations that are tailored to their practice’s unique needs. This enables them to capture the data they need and present it in a way where they get meaningful use of their electronic health records. In other words, not all healthcare providers want to store the same patient information across the board. Most care providers will want to store medical history, lab results, general patient information, and current diagnoses. However, a pediatric practice may choose to include fields specific to child development milestones, while a neurology practice may include fields specific to neurological testing.

Not only can you customize the EMR system’s configuration, but building your app on Knack’s no-code platform also offers a multitude of integrations so that you can build your specific EMR functionality requirements directly into your other workflows. This interoperability allows for extreme efficiency.

2. Control

When healthcare professionals build their own EMR system, they have complete control over the system’s design, development, and maintenance. This level of control allows them to address any issues or changes quickly and efficiently, ensuring that the system always meets their needs. With a no-code platform, organizations can easily modify the system as needed without requiring coding knowledge or extensive technical expertise. This can provide more control over the system and can result in a more efficient and effective solution.

A patient’s health journey exists outside of your office, so it’s essential to give them a great experience outside of just diagnosing their needs in person. By building a no-code EMR, your office can also offer a variety of web apps – such as a patient portal, health education app, telemedicine option – in order to control and optimize the entire patient journey. Knack also offers templates that ensure easy expansion.

Check out 7 Healthcare Apps you can Build with No-Code >>

3. Security

While many out of box EMRs and EHR systems’ functionality provides robust security measures, healthcare organizations may have specific security requirements that are not fully addressed by the pre-built system. Additionally, pre-built systems may be targeted by attackers due to their popularity and widespread use.

In contrast, building an EMR system with a no-code platform allows healthcare organizations to implement security measures that are tailored to their specific needs, patient records, and workflows. With a no-code platform, organizations can easily modify the system to address specific security concerns and can more easily implement security measures such as role-based access control, patient data encryption, and regular security audits.

However, it’s important to note that building an EMR system with a no-code platform still requires adherence to industry standards and regulations such as HIPAA, and implementing security measures can still be complex and require expertise in security best practices. Therefore, it’s recommended that healthcare organizations work with experts in both no-code development and security to ensure their system is secure and compliant.

Knack adheres to HIPAA policies that pertain to no-code platforms such as Knack, in order to provide secure storage of protected health information (PHI). These policies entail heightened security measures for encryption, access, and breach prevention, as well as more stringent policies for Knack’s team regarding the handling and storage of PHI data. Furthermore, we can provide a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) that defines our specific responsibilities for the storage of your PHI in a legally binding manner.

Download Knack’s Ultimate Guide to Building HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Apps >>

4. Cost

The development costs of an out-of-box EMR can vary depending on the vendor, the size of the practice, and the features included in the EMR system. On average, the cost of an EMR system can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per year per provider.

According to a 2022 study by Software Path, healthcare providers can expect to pay around $1,200 per year per user of the EHR system. For a typical practice with 3 physicians and 4 support staff, you would expect to pay $8,400 for system costs alone. Further, maintenance costs alone can be as high as $1,500 per physician per month. Additionally, some EMR systems may charge additional fees for features such as e-prescribing, patient portal access, and lab integrations. All in all, these costs can add up over time and should be factored into the total cost of ownership.

Building an EMR from scratch with no-code is much less expensive and less time-consuming. No-code platforms eliminate the need for resources like professional developers, allowing healthcare professionals to create their EMRs at a fraction of the cost of traditional software development.

Knack specifically offers subscriptions based on data usage rather than users, so your EMR can grow as you grow. Plus, you don’t have to worry about being charged more if your office adds another physician.

View Knack’s pricing >>

5. Time to Value

With such high costs, it may take a long time to see the return on investment of an out-of-box EHR software. Plus, the implementation time for an out-of-box electronic medical record (EMR) system can vary significantly depending on a variety of factors, such as the size of the healthcare organization, the complexity of the system, the level of customization required, the amount of data to be migrated, and the readiness of the organization for the implementation process.

Generally speaking, a basic EMR system implementation can take anywhere from several months to a year. However, more complex implementations, such as those requiring extensive customization, integration with other systems, or data migration from legacy systems, can take several years.

With no-code and Knack, clinicians can build their electronic health records system and see a return on value in a mere few days. Because of Knack, CureTech – one of the nation’s largest and most trusted durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers – is now saving $250,000 per year or more just from headcount costs alone.

Read the full CureTech Case Study here >>

Start Building for Free Today

Overall, building a custom EMR system can provide healthcare professionals with better customization, control, security, cost savings, and time to value, making it a worthwhile investment for many healthcare systems. You can start building with Knack for free (with no hidden costs) today. Jumpstart your EMR build and start protecting your electronic health records at a timeline and price that works for you.

Start building for free today >>