This is the first time I have used this type of practice management system. I used the Specialist Homelessness Information Platform (SHIP) in my previous role, which made it easier for me to transition to using Power Diary.
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, …
It wasn't really a choice for me- I used the chiropractic specific when working for chiropractors and then used Practice Fusion while I was working for an alternative healthcare doctor. The doctors all had chosen the software before signing me on, there wasn't really an option …
NextGen is hard to use as far as medical records. Practice Fusion is user friendly. There is a great knowledge base for questions asked. Practice Fusion takes all the guess work out of the day.
Practice fusion is much more user friendly than the other programs that we have used. The more costly EMR's were definitely no better and the ones we have used were not nearly as easy to use. I would highly recommend practice fusion over Athena or Allscripts.
Power Diary is a useful practice management software however, in my opinion, their support is absolutely awful, in my experience, they stop responding at times and fail to take appropriate steps for customers where there is an issue, choosing instead to take their own path forward, rather than be humble and listen to what their clients need. In my experience, they have even gone so far as to label constructive feedback as being an attack on their character. To me, not professional at all.
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.
Provides detailed instructions on how to use their services and also webinars on various topics to help grow your practice. They also check in via email and offer advice if you are having any issues with the system.
Invoicing is simple and their system makes it easy to monitor payments received and outstanding.
Writing client case notes and recording all administrative notes is a simple process.
Client documents can be saved into client records, so everything is in one place and there is no need to keep hard copy records.
They have templates (letters etc.) that can be accessed and used which saves time.
They have a feature that assists with developing policies which I found helpful.
They have a Facebook Page that allows Power Diary users to communicate, share tips etc.
The system itself is user friendly and quite easy to navigate. If you need help, you can access the instructions provided by Power Diary.
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.
I think Power Diary is relatively intuitive however of late, over development of certain features with insufficient user experience testing, and, in my opinion, no desire to resolve the concerns of customers shows me that Power Diary's business model is not customer centric, but self centric and most businesses with this ethos fail in time.
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.
This is the first time I have used this type of practice management system. I used the Specialist Homelessness Information Platform (SHIP) in my previous role, which made it easier for me to transition to using Power Diary.
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.