Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, iPatientCare (opens in new tab) is an EHR that was built by physicians, for physicians. It has over two decades of experience, 250+ global employees supporting use both in the US and internationally.
With that in mind, it is no surprise that it is designed to streamline workflows with neat features such as the ability to customize templates that are specific to the specialty, as any physician knows that an exam note written by an ophthalmologist, will be much different than an office visit from a pediatrician, or an orthopedist. It is also designed to integrate with other clinical systems, and also supports both cloud based, and on premises deployments.
Let’s delve deeper and see if it qualifies as one of the best Electronic Health Records software (opens in new tab) platform…
iPatientCare: Features
There are plenty of features to like on the mature iPatientCare EHR platform. We appreciate that as an EHR, that notes can be fully customized for ease of use and workflow. This includes the templates for progress notes, and being able to organize the tabs in a preferred order for the clinicians’ ease of use. Writing prescriptions gets done with ease with the inclusion of electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS).
There is also a certain level of analytics offered, as there is access to dashboards so data can get tracked over time. Providing quality data has become an essential feature, and iPatientCare supports MIPS, Meaningful Use, and MACRA eCQMs. With iPatientCare, the compliance with these measures can be viewed, in real time, to target improvements. In addition, this data can be provided to CMS by the provider, or iPatientCare can handle the attestation.
Another useful item is the support for Telehealth, without the need for an additional platform at further cost. It offers three ways to communicate with patients: audio, video and chat. This type of virtual visit is increasingly important as providers embrace both virtual and hybrid models of practice.
Patient Portal
The patient portal is a highlight of the iPatientCare solution, which you get a sense is better developed than most from its name- the Patient Engagement Suite. Going beyond just a support portal with a caduceus in the upper corner, it allows for personalization, and also has automated patient reminders. Perhaps the most powerful feature is the secure messaging (as a reminder that SMS texting is not HIPAA compliant), which can integrate into the patient record, which is advantageous compared to having another secure texting app that will come at an additional cost, and not integrate as well.
Mobile
iPatientCare does provide apps for both the iOS and Android platforms. The iOS app is well developed and gets a rating of 4.1 of 5 stars. Also realize that it is designed for iPad use, and there are also additional iPads apps from this same company, one a medication adherence tool, and the other a medical calculator.
Things are not as well situated on the Android side of things. There is no star rating, the app was last updated in September of last year, and there have been only around 100 downloads, which is really low volume.
iPatientCare: Drawback
Our main quibble is that iPatientCare is currently in transition on the site over to assurecare.com. This type of movement makes us wonder how it will affect the current offering, both in terms of features, along with pricing. It also makes it more difficult to commit to this platform given the current state of things.
iPatientCare: Support
The support for iPatientCare is more of a traditional, and direct approach. Therefore, the expected options of a phone number, toll free no less, an email, and even a fax number are easily found. There is also a contact form for those that prefer that method. We did not find a chat option, which is increasingly found as another option. Also, the hours of operation for support are not listed.
The area that is lacking in support is the self help kind, and an area that most of the competition does better with. Therefore, we did not find a searchable library of articles, no e-papers, webinars, nor video content, which is disappointing as often these can save a prolonged phone call.
iPatientCare: Pricing
The cost of iPatientCare is certainly an area that left us wanting for more. While some of the competing EHR’s have plan features and costs all laid out on their websites, this EHR provides none of this – not the price, not the plans, nor the costs of any potential add ons. While we can certainly understand that every practice is unique, and therefore the EHR will need to be made to reflect that, it should not require handing over our business credentials, and the time required for a phone conversation just to get some basic pricing info to see if this solution makes financial sense in the most general of terms.
Adding to the frustration, we searched around, and reviewed several other sites, and the we could glean about the iPatientCare EHR pricing is that it gets sold as a monthly subscription. C’est la vie.
iPatientCare: Final verdict
At the end of the day, iPatientCare offers a mature EHR platform. We like pluses such as the integrated secure messaging, the available iOS and Android apps, and the customizable templates. Things could be improved with the maturity of the Android app, the iOS app focusing on the iPad, and leaving out support of the Apple Watch and ever popular in healthcare due to higher level of security iPhone. We really just can’t get past the opaque pricing, that could give us an idea of how competitive this offering is, and would hope that the company relooks at this practice.
