So, you're looking into Practice Fusion alternatives. You're not alone. Maybe Practice Fusion just isn’t cutting it anymore.
Perhaps you’re starting your practice and are seeking more than just basic EHR options. Or maybe the transition to a paid model for Practice Fusion's software has you feeling priced out and searching for a free version.
Whatever your reasons for looking elsewhere, knowing what else is out there is always a good thing. And let me tell you, some pretty fantastic Practice Fusion alternatives exist that might be a better fit for your needs. These Practice Fusion alternatives provide a range of features such as patient engagement tools and revenue cycle management.
Why Are People Looking For Practice Fusion Alternatives?
Before we dive into some excellent alternatives, let's address the elephant in the room. Why are healthcare providers seeking options other than Practice Fusion in the first place? After all, Practice Fusion offers integrated electronic health records and practice management.
While Practice Fusion has been a popular choice for many healthcare providers, it's not perfect. Like any platform, it has its limitations. Some providers are seeking more from their EHR solution, wanting a single database for all their needs.
For starters, in 2018, Practice Fusion transitioned from a free model to a $100 monthly fee per physician. As you can imagine, this change didn’t sit well with everyone, and many practices started to weigh the platform's benefits against its costs.
Here are a few more reasons why healthcare providers might look for alternatives:
- Limited Functionality: While Practice Fusion offers a decent suite of features, some providers might find them lacking compared to more robust, feature-rich alternatives. Healthcare providers manage a large amount of patient data and need a solution that can keep up.
- User Experience: User feedback sometimes criticizes Practice Fusion’s user interface and overall experience for being clunky or outdated compared to some competitors. This can lead to frustration for office staff.
- Customer Support: There have been occasional complaints about the quality or responsiveness of customer support offered by Practice Fusion. As we all know, in the healthcare industry, reliable support for mission-critical software is paramount.
Top Practice Fusion Alternatives
The good news is that several worthy contenders might be a better match for your practice's specific requirements. Let’s explore some leading Practice Fusion alternatives to consider. Whether you are a small practice or a large medical group, there is a solution for you.
1. Elation Health
Best For: Independent Primary Care
Elation Health is often recognized as one of the top choices for independent primary care physicians, placing a high priority on usability and a streamlined approach. Elation offers appointment scheduling, patient portals, e-prescribing, and billing services.
2. AZZLY Rize
Best For: Addiction Treatment and Mental Health
This practice management solution offers a robust platform with tools specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of addiction treatment and mental health practices. It includes electronic health records, billing, and revenue cycle management tools tailored for these specialties. This is a true all-in-one database solution.
3. Sevocity EHR
Best For: Championing Personalized Support
Sevocity EHR focuses on providing long-term, personalized support, particularly aimed at growing practices. They’re big on building solid, long-lasting relationships. The platform itself is pretty comprehensive with all the features you would expect, including electronic health records, a patient portal, and billing capabilities.
4. Valant Behavioral Health EHR
Best For: Mental Health Practices
As you might have guessed from the name, this platform targets behavioral and mental health practices. They offer specialized tools to make life a bit easier in that specific healthcare niche.
In addition to the core features like electronic health records, patient portals, and telehealth, Valant provides group therapy scheduling features, making it perfect for practices heavily focused on this treatment modality.
5. MedRight
Best For: Senior Living Communities
MedRight specializes in EHR solutions for senior care facilities, including assisted living and residential treatment centers. It includes features such as medication management, resident charting, and reporting specifically geared toward meeting regulatory requirements for facilities caring for seniors. Features include a free initial consultation for practices that are starting out.
Editor's Note: While it may not be an EHR tool, Magical is a tool that helps healthcare admin teams stay productive by eliminating repetitive tasks. Tasks like data entry and moving patient info between systems safely and securely. You can create keyboard shortcuts for your most used phrases and codes and store them in Magical so you can call them up with one click.
Evaluating Practice Fusion Alternatives: Key Considerations
While these represent just a small slice of the available Practice Fusion alternatives, there are several crucial factors to keep in mind when evaluating any EHR system. You will want to evaluate what features are most important for you.
Practice Size and Specialty
Certain EHR solutions excel with particular practice sizes or medical specialties. Elation Health, for example, is well-regarded for independent primary care physicians. However, if you have a larger specialty practice or different needs, your perfect software might be entirely different.
For example, physical therapy practices have different needs from a practice management platform than a mental health practice. Make sure the solution offers the ability to manage patients in the way you want to.
Pricing Structure
It’s essential to be 100% clear on how pricing works, and this includes potential hidden fees or extra costs. Nothing is worse than signing up for an EHR platform, only to get hit with surprise charges down the road.
Many EMR offers free trials which can be beneficial. Also, look for a solution that allows you to streamline billing.
Ease of Use and Implementation
You’re already super busy, so make sure the platform you choose isn’t overly complicated and is intuitive and straightforward to navigate. This includes easy appointment scheduling.
Interoperability
Information exchange with labs, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers can make a massive difference in efficiency.
Customer Support and Training
If you need help transitioning, setting things up, or just have a question, what’s customer support like? Look for comprehensive training options, easily accessible help materials, and responsive customer service. It can make or break your experience with any new EHR solution.
FAQs about Practice Fusion alternatives
Is patient fusion the same as Practice Fusion?
Yes, "Patient Fusion" and "Practice Fusion" refer to the same company. The platform was initially known as Patient Fusion, but they decided to change the name to Practice Fusion—perhaps they felt it rolled off the tongue a bit better.
Is Practice Fusion an EHR or EMR?
Technically, Practice Fusion is considered an EHR or electronic health record. While people sometimes use EMR (electronic medical record) and EHR interchangeably, an EHR usually has more capabilities, and Practice Fusion falls into that category.
Is Practice Fusion owned by Allscripts?
You are correct. Back in 2018, Allscripts, another big name in healthcare information technology, acquired Practice Fusion.
Why is Practice Fusion so slow?
That’s a great question. Several things might cause slowness in any software platform, and without specific details, it's impossible to say for sure. However, possible culprits could include server issues, insufficient bandwidth, the need for software updates, or problems with internet connections on the user's end.
Which Alternative Is Right For Your Practice?
Selecting the right EHR solution for your practice is a big decision—don't jump into it without doing your due diligence. Think through your specific needs, the size of your practice, the types of features most valuable to your workflow, and, of course, your budget.
And never forget, even beyond these well-known players, numerous outstanding Practice Fusion alternatives might align perfectly with what you’re looking for in an EHR. When you find an alternative you love, pair it with Magical. Magical is used (and loved) at more than 50,000 companies like United Healthcare, Optum, and Zoomcare to save 7 hours a week (on average) on their repetitive tasks. Try it for your team today!