One of the early attempts at creating electronic health records (EHR) was at the Regenstreif Institute smack dab in the peace-love-and-joy era of the early 1970s. The tech has evolved significantly since those days, but when EHR issues leave you feeling less groovy and more grumpy, it may be time for a switch.

Switching up your EHR can feel daunting when you aren’t sure of the steps involved – especially when your day-to-day energy is focused on serving clients and running your business. Luckily, it is possible to make a change without the process taking over your life.

We’ve seen countless practitioners make a seamless move to Practice Better. In this blog we’ll walk through what’s involved in switching your EHR to Practice Better and the support you can expect from our team. You’ll also read about the experiences of health and wellness practitioners who have gone through the process and never looked back. 

Reasons to switch to a new EHR

EHR software is designed to boost accuracy and care quality, while streamlining your work. While no solution is going to be perfect, the following are things to look for in a new software solution.

1. Better, more efficient systems

It’s easy to see how system performance issues and downtime lead to business disruption. But there are many other small annoyances that can creep in and erode your efficiency. 

Before she switched her EHR to Practice Better, Functional Sports Nutritionist Fiona Maria (MS, CFNC) had to take many steps to get a client’s completed intake form. “I would send them the form and they would download a copy to their computer, fill it out, and re-upload it,” she says. “With Practice Better, the Functional Nutrition Alliance intake form is a built-in template. Clients can fill it out right in the app.” 

The client experience aspect of an EHR is crucial to relieving your administrative headaches. If clients have a seamless, connected experience, then you have fewer tasks to handle and delighted clients as well.

2. Better scalability

As your practice grows, your current EHR should empower you in your growth efforts. For example, if you decide to build a program or course to generate passive income, it’s helpful to have a solution like Practice Better with built-in functionality to run programs from a single secure website.

Your EHR vendor should also make it easy to upgrade to a new plan if you need to access additional features. 

3. Better and more integrations with other software

If you constantly switch between dashboards in your EHR and the other applications you use to run your practice, you’re wasting time and duplicating efforts. No one likes all those extra clicks. An EHR that offers integrations with the applications you and your clients use every day can save you lots of time and frustration. 

Practitioner Fiona Maria loves the Cronometer integration in Practice Better. “Practice Better was a no-brainer for me because of the Cronometer integration,” she says. “It was huge for me to see all the insights would be in one place, rather than pulling up Cronometer data separately. Plus, it also offers integrations with FullScript and That Clean Life.” 

“Practice Better was a no-brainer for me because of the Cronometer integration. It was huge for me to see all the insights would be in one place, rather than pulling up Cronometer data separately. Plus, it also offers integrations with FullScript and That Clean Life.” 
Fiona Maria, Functional Sports Nutritionist, MS, CFNC

4. Better patient engagement 

Engaged clients are more motivated to make the changes they need to succeed. If your EHR lacks features like easy scheduling, secure messaging, and other critical support features, it can be harder to get (and keep) the attention of your clients. 

Practice Better offers all of this, plus an integrated client portal that provides a single source for every interaction. “The Practice Better chat is just so much easier for clients, and the app is friendlier to use,” says Fiona. “It shows clients that I take my business seriously and they can trust they’re in good hands.”  

5. Better compliance and security

Your EHR must comply with the latest regulatory and security standards – no compromise. If you have concerns that your EHR or Telehealth software is putting patient data at risk, switching to a platform like Practice Better, that prioritizes compliance and security, will protect you, your clients, and your business. 

6. Better features

Ideally, your EHR should bundle in various tools to keep both your clients and your business thriving. Practice Better offers built-in AI and productivity tools to save you hours of admin every week. It also offers protocols and programs features that help you scale your services and attract new clients. 

Shay Johnson is a Holistic Nutritionist, Herbalist, and Business Mentor who switched to Practice Better.

“I’ve tried many platforms over the years, but they didn’t seem to have the specific features required to run a wellness practice,” she says. “Not only is Practice Better a great platform, but they also have fantastic customer service.”
Shay Johnson, Holistic Nutritionist, Herbalist, and Business Mentor

7. Better satisfaction

Sometimes, the little daily annoyances in a platform can add up to a big sense of overall frustration. If your current EHR vendor isn’t offering support to work through any issues together or isn’t continuing to invest in new features that make your work life easier, it may be time for a switch. 

With that in mind, let’s explore where to start. 

Assessing your needs

It’s important to identify the specific pain points with your current EHR before you switch platforms. Doing so will give you a tangible checklist of items to look for when assessing other solutions. 

• Keep a running list for a few weeks where you jot down both your pain points and the things you like in your current solution. (If you run a group practice, get your team to do the same.)

• Ask your clients about their impressions of your systems. How intuitive are they to use and navigate? How easy is it to collaborate with you? Are there features they love/hate? 

• Consider the EHR functionality you need—both must-haves and nice-to-haves. You should also consider what you need now to be successful and what you need to meet your future plans. Where do you want to grow? Can the new tool help you get there?

For example, if you’re only offering 1:1 in-person appointments now, but want to expand to telehealth and group programs in the future, then you’ll want those features on your Must-Have list. 

• Consider your budget. Licensing fees can vary greatly when you look at the functionality included at the different plan levels. Some features are only available on higher plans, and it’s important to know that before you commit to switching.

Researching alternatives

Once you’ve mapped out what you ideally want from an EHR, it’s time to start evaluating how different solutions stack up. Practice Better goes above and beyond the expected features, giving you tools that work seamlessly together to scale your business, practice smarter, and elevate client interactions. 

Here’s a high-level view of what you can expect when you switch to Practice Better. To conduct a deeper dive, book a migration consultation with our customer support team. 

• Scheduling and billing. Practice Better includes all the functionality to make it easy for clients to book directly with you, with features you can use to protect your time. Plus, payments are seamlessly integrated with your account.

• Automations. Manage recurring tasks, reduce admin budget, and take back your time with set-and-forget automations.

• Messaging and telehealth. Keep all communication between you and your clients secure and accessible. When on telehealth calls, use a built-in AI charting assistant to create word-perfect transcripts, summaries, and action items. 

“Giving clients your phone number gets more challenging as you grow. Moving over to Practice Better and using the client messaging tools enables you to keep really healthy boundaries.” 
Fiona Maria, Functional Sports Nutritionist, MS, CFNC

• Client portal. A built-in, secure portal makes it easier for clients to kick-start and ingrain lifestyle changes with the support they need to succeed.

• Mobile app. Support clients on the go and also give them an easy way to stay in touch and access the resources they need to stay accountable between sessions. 

• Programs and courses. Create and sell engaging online courses, plus expand your support beyond 1:1 sessions.

Get the impressions of practitioners who are using the EHR

In addition to doing your own research, it’s valuable to hear the impressions straight from wellness pros who are already using a product. 

• Customer testimonials are a good place to start. You can also see what users think on third-party websites, like G2. 

• G2 also scores products based on reviews aggregated from its community, online sources, and social networks. It maps these scores on a proprietary G2 Grid® for a visual view of solutions. 

The image below shows the G2 Grid for EHR Software for Small Business Users, which ranks Practice Better as a High Performing Leader. 

Don’t forget about the power of tapping into your network to ask peers about their experiences with the EHRs they use. The Practice Better Community is an open forum that welcomes both users and non-users of the platform, making it a valuable source for gathering honest opinions from a wide variety of practitioners. 

Planning the transition

Once you’ve decided to switch to Practice Better, upfront planning will help to make the migration smoother. 

• Your detailed transition plan should outline the steps involved in switching EHR systems, including timelines, responsible parties, and milestones for each phase of the transition. Consider how to minimize disruptions to patient care and your operations during the transition period.

• If you’re in a large group practice or clinic setting, form a transition team that includes practitioners, administrative staff, IT personnel, and billing specialists. A project manager overseeing the whole process can help, as can assigning roles and responsibilities to different team members as appropriate. 

• Map out a timeline for your EHR transition. Consider the complexity of data migration, staff training, and system configuration. By breaking your timeline into chunks, you can better identify and communicate the overall impact of delays along the way.

• Make sure you consider how you will communicate with all interested parties about the transition and how it impacts them. This includes any staff, partners, investors, and clients. For example, Practice Better has built-in payments, so your clients will need to understand the new processes to follow to ensure continuity of cash flow for your business. 

Data migration

A key consideration when you switch to a new EHR is how your data gets moved. The unique ways EHRs organize, store, and retrieve data can impact the migration process. 

Incomplete export of client contact information will lead to specific fields missing after the client contact list is imported (like birthdate, email, address, etc.) To address this issue, the client contacts need to be deleted in bulk and then reimported with the correct fields mapped.

How Practice Better protects your data during migration

Our expert migration service is free to new clients of Practice Better. 

• Our experts advise new clients to review what fields we import. If you have any questions it’s best to contact our Practice Better migration team for clarification.
• If you’re concerned about data integrity, our team has the expertise to help preserve it. 
• Our team will guide you through how to access and download your files from your software, and we provide a secure way to send your data to our team. Note that your current EHR provider should not charge you for obtaining your current files.
• If you’re having trouble with migration, our migration team will guide you with exporting from your current system and assist in loading client demographic data and preparing any additional document files to be migrated over.

Here are the elements you can import to Practice Better: 

• Files, charts, and labs
• Text files
• Images, like a scanned food diary or scanned bloodwork 
• Client lists
• Our team tries to preserve as much of your data as possible, finding a location in the Additional Notes section for any extra data

Note that our team doesn't import your online course or program, but we can help you learn how to use the full-function programs feature in Practice Better.

Training and onboarding

The quicker you get comfortable using Practice Better, the faster you’ll start to reap the rewards. Our team offers many different training and support channels: 

• A robust Help Center contains detailed articles related to all aspects of the platform. You’ll even find a Setup Checklist and Onboarding Guide to keep you on track while you get familiar with the platform. 

• If you sign up to our Plus or Team plan, we provide additional training within the first month, walking you through step-by-step how to best set up your Practice Better account for success.
• Our team have curated resources, events, and live group Q&A sessions geared to help practitioners make the best use of the platform. These sessions cover topics and questions related to Parts 1-5 in the above Practitioner Onboarding Guide and Tutorials.
• More experienced users can also contact our Support Team in their Practice Better portal or from the Help Center.
• For practitioners who are specifically interested in growing their practice, we also hold a yearly free online Summit featuring expert deep dives into topics of interest. 
• Don’t forget about the free Practice Better Community we mentioned earlier! It’s another place to get tips and tricks from peers already using the platform. 

“I'm so happy I made the switch to Practice Better! It's allowed me to be more successful because I can focus on what I need to focus on, which is providing support for my clients - not dealing with hours of backend issues.”
Lexy Penney, Registered Dietitian

Implementing new systems

Practice Better lets you customize the platform to work the way your practice works best. 

• Optimize your workflows, including recurring tasks,  sending forms, using note templates and snippets, and more.

• Use automations to save time, while keeping clients engaged and accountable.

• Integrate your favorite third-party tools and apps with Practice Better, including That Clean Life, Cronometer, Fullscript, FitBit, Google Analytics, and more.

Testing and quality assurance

Since you rely so heavily on your EHR to securely manage client data, the reliability and accuracy of your platform is critical. Testing the system before full deployment will help to avoid disruptions or unnecessary risks. 

• Test Practice Better’s features thoroughly to make sure they are working as intended. This will help ensure The EHR integrates smoothly into your existing systems and won’t introduce disruptions or delays. 

• Gather feedback from your team, if you have one, on how the new platform is functioning. You could even roll the platform out to a few select test clients if you’d like additional user feedback.

By understanding the experience of others using the platform, you can make the necessary adjustments to ensure the experience is delightful for all. 

• You’ll want to verify data accuracy and integrity throughout the testing phase to minimize risk of errors or data loss.  

Go-live and post-implementation support

Before you push Practice Better live, prepare your clients and any staff for the change. Train anyone who will be using the platform and be prepared to provide support and assistance during the initial transition period to swiftly address any concerns or questions. 

Don’t forget to keep the lines of communication open post-implementation. Give users a way to provide ongoing feedback and even make suggestions for improvements. 

Keep monitoring key performance indicators, such as system uptime, user satisfaction, productivity metrics, and patient outcomes. If you need support, our online help center and support team are there to ensure you never feel alone. 

“One of the things I've always loved about Practice Better is that they are not difficult to get a hold of. They provide support that helps members be successful on the platform.”
Tony Ho, RSW and Therapist

Avoid the pains, embrace the gains

Switching to Practice Better is an excellent way to streamline your systems, improve patient care, enhance data security, and generally enjoy greater efficiency and improved client outcomes. 

If you’re interested in exploring switching your EHR to Practice Better, you can schedule your personalized migration consultation with our customer support team today.