How much does an Electronic Medical Record (EMR/EHR) cost?

Finding the right medical electronic medical record (EMR/EHR) is essential for smaller clinics that need to find cost-effective solutions, especially when in startup. Many systems offer a plethora of features and storage options that smaller clinics have no use for. Although many EMRs can have a rather high monthly cost, there are actually free versions for the smaller business as well.

Which EMR is best?

What suits your business best depends on your functional needs but also cost requirements. A good way to go can be to start with a system that does not involve a regular extra cost for the company. Here are a couple of examples of which EMRs are available on the market right now at the time of writing:

• MERIDIQ – For beauty care – Free trial (14 days)
• ME – For all service based industries – Free (up to 50 bookings or 5 users)
• Acuity Scheduling – For small businesses – From 14 Euro
• Kareo – For clinics – From 75 Euro
• CureMD – For specialties – From 195 Euro or 4 % of collections
• GE Healthcare – For small and medium-sized medical practices – Contact the vendors for pricing
• eClinical Works – For medical professionals of every size and type – From 449 Euro or 2,9 % of collections
• Athenahealth – For small to midsized practices – A tailored percent of collections

Choose a EMR that is allowed to expand as the needs of your business grow. Of course, the system must comply with the laws and guidelines that apply to GDPR, patient safety and patient data law.

What functions are included in an EMR?

Larger businesses often need more functions in an electronic medical record than a newly started smaller clinic. Therefore, as an aesthetic clinic, it is important to choose a system that does not offer too much, as this is often reflected in the cost.

Some of the functions of an EMR that beauty clinics may need, regardless of size, include:

• Health forms and consents
• Digital signatures
• Templates for treatment options
• Digital registration of patients
• Unlimited image storage
• Customized treatments
• Customized and custom forms
• Ways to change rights between users

That the EMR is easy to manage and use is important for many, as is getting a good overview. It should not be complicated to learn how to handle the system, either for patient or therapist. The essence lies in saving time for therapists, so that most of the available time is spent on the patient instead of administration.

Availability is becoming increasingly important, as is security when it comes to storing personal data. More and more businesses are moving towards digitization and it is now expected that all information can be accessed in one and the same place digitally.

How many EMRs are there in Sweden?

In Sweden, six different EMRs are used within regionally controlled care; hospital and primary care. These EMRs suit larger businesses that have a different need than smaller clinics and beauty salons.

For smaller clinics that need to start small and grow over time, there are several different systems to consider. Common for beauty clinics that work with injection treatments is that since July 1, 2021, there are greater demands on safe administration and documentation for patients and treatments.

This leads to a positive development for both patients and therapists, as it becomes easier to manage, store and share medical records in a secure manner. Read more about the changes in the law for aesthetic treatments:

Are there free electronic medical records?

Many EMRs have several levels of subscription, where the cost increases as the business needs more functions and more storage of data and users.

MERIDIQ is an affordable, user-friendly online EMR, specially designed for clinics and practitioners in beauty care. The logs are stored securely in the cloud, accessible from any device and where only involved processors have access to the stored information.

New patients register easily through the registration portal and here consents and other documents can be signed even before the visit to the clinic.

MERIDIQ offers a free trial up to 14 days, without limitation of functions or requirements for card details during registration.