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Understanding EHR Selection for Today's Practices
Electronic Health Record systems have become the backbone of modern health care delivery, yet choosing the right platform requires understanding how different solutions serve distinct practice needs. From enterprise health systems managing thousands of patients across multiple locations to independent wellness practitioners building holistic care models, EHR selection profoundly impacts clinical efficiency, patient engagement, and practice growth.
The right EHR for a therapy practice must balance clinical functionality with administrative efficiency. Therapists need tools that support their documentation requirements without creating barriers to patient care. Unlike medical specialties where encounters may be brief and diagnosis-driven, behavioral health sessions involve extensive narrative documentation, longitudinal treatment tracking, and sensitive information that demands particular attention to privacy and security.
The health care technology landscape offers platforms ranging from comprehensive enterprise solutions serving major hospital systems to specialized tools designed for specific practice types. Success depends on matching system capabilities to practice workflows, patient populations, and operational priorities. The platforms below represent leading solutions across this spectrum, each excelling in particular contexts while delivering the core functionality modern practices require.
Epic
Epic stands as the most widely adopted EHR system globally, serving over 3,600 hospitals in the United States and accounting for nearly 38% of the inpatient EHR market share. The platform provides comprehensive health information management designed for hospitals and large practices capable of managing complex daily operations including patient medical records, clinical workflows, and revenue cycle management.
The system offers extensive modules catering to different health care needs across specialties. Epic's standardized documentation keeps charting consistent and accurate, with a user-friendly interface allowing clinicians to quickly access information and document care in real time. This ensures other health care providers have the details they need as quickly as possible, facilitating seamless care coordination.
Epic emphasizes interoperability and easy integration with third-party systems. More Epic physicians have attested to Meaningful Use Stage 2 than users of any other system, and records can be shared with any EHR using these standards. Epic's open API facilitates integration with third-party software and apps, enabling practices to build comprehensive technology ecosystems. The platform integrates AI into its health care system to enhance patient care and streamline workflows, with a focus on embedding AI tools directly into clinical workflows to improve decision-making without disrupting care.
Epic's patient engagement tools include extensive patient portals available as native apps for both Android and iOS, along with numerous telehealth options from supporting video visits and post-surgical follow-ups to patient monitoring features. The MyChart patient portal allows patients to access their health information, schedule appointments, and communicate with providers conveniently.
MEDITECH
MEDITECH, established in 1969, provides electronic health record systems primarily serving hospitals and large health care organizations. The company's web-based Expanse platform includes comprehensive modules for health information management, revenue cycle, and patient engagement. MEDITECH has received recognition as an award-winning EHR provider and was awarded Best in KLAS for Acute Care EHR for the 11th consecutive year in 2025.
The platform's interoperability solutions are renowned for their innovative approach, fostering seamless data exchange. MEDITECH's bidirectional exchange between CommonWell and Carequality ensures broad connectivity, allowing member records to be shared with major EHR vendors. This interoperability supports continuity of care while keeping everyone safe and secure.
MEDITECH Expanse features exceptional flexibility and customization options, adapting to diverse workflows across various care settings. The platform supports behavioral health integration, with organizations like Ozarks Healthcare using Expanse to provide a single EHR across all facilities including their Behavioral Health Center, improving efficiency and reducing redundancies. The system allows personalized workflows around patients' behavioral health needs.
The platform offers Virtual On Demand Care providing timely and convenient urgent care. The patient portal allows patients to view health records, send secure messages, request appointments, and pay bills online. MEDITECH's mobile accessibility, streamlined workflows, and AI-powered tools help clinicians manage time effectively, reduce administrative burdens, and improve turnaround times for documentation tasks.
Greenway Health
Greenway Health has been a trusted health care IT partner for over 30 years, delivering EHR, Practice Management, and Patient Engagement solutions specifically for the ambulatory market. Their deep industry expertise ensures every solution aligns with practice needs, fostering a people-first approach benefiting both patients and providers.
The platform is powered by the AWS cloud for unmatched security, performance, and scalability. Greenway's solutions are built to help providers and staff simplify their day, engage patients more effectively, and improve financial outcomes through automation. The AI-driven Clinical Assist feature streamlines documentation with customizable templates that facilitate smoother clinical workflows while maintaining thorough and accurate records.
Greenway's Intergy EHR offers personalized solutions supporting the unique needs of various specialties, providing precise tools to enhance operational effectiveness and patient care. The platform minimizes disruptions, optimizes workflows, and reduces administrative burdens, allowing providers to focus more on patient care and less on paperwork.
Integration capabilities distinguish Greenway from competitors. As a founding member of CommonWell Health Alliance, Greenway's integration with this nonprofit trade association provides access to a nationwide patient information exchange connecting 15,000+ provider sites. The platform integrates clinical, financial, and patient engagement tools comprehensively, reducing burnout and improving outcomes.
Greenway's Enterprise Support team provides timely, effective resolutions thanks to experienced staff with an average tenure of 13 years. Tailored training programs like the Virtual Interactive Academy and Beacon Course Library keep teams up to date and help optimize EHR usage.
TherapyNotes
TherapyNotes enjoys a strong reputation as a comprehensive online practice management system created specifically for mental health practitioners. The platform combines essential functionalities including note taking, scheduling, billing, telehealth, and client portals into a single streamlined package, making it a powerful choice for mental health professionals seeking to streamline practice operations.
Common praise centers on TherapyNotes' user interface, which reviewers describe as intuitive and well-organized. Clinicians can navigate the system efficiently without extensive training, reducing onboarding time and minimizing friction accompanying EHR adoption. This ease of use has built a loyal user base through consistent performance and attentive support.
Documentation tools include a library of customizable templates for various therapy modalities and session types. The platform offers therapy-specific templates and forms accommodating different clinical approaches while maintaining structure necessary for billing compliance and clinical accountability. Templates include progress notes, treatment plans, and psychological evaluations along with robust billing capabilities.
The integrated calendar enables efficient scheduling, while the client portal allows patients to book sessions online. TherapyNotes also offers therapists the option to incorporate measurement-based care into sessions using measures such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, allowing better tracking of client outcomes over time. Telehealth capabilities integrated into TherapyNotes allow clinicians to conduct video sessions through the platform without separate software.
Practice Better
Practice Better is the leading all-in-one practice management software trusted by over 50,000 wellness practitioners to streamline operations and deliver better client care. The platform serves health and wellness professionals including dietitians, nutritionists, naturopaths, health coaches, and therapists, providing comprehensive tools for both solo practitioners and larger clinics.
The platform's user-friendly interface and seamless integrations elevate health coaching and wellness practices. Practice Better consolidates multiple software programs into one solution, eliminating the need to manage disparate systems for scheduling, billing, documentation, and client engagement. Automation features handle administrative tasks while delivering client experiences that foster engagement and accountability.
Practice Better's protocols feature allows practitioners to create easy-to-follow treatment plans ensuring clients are informed and empowered. Food and lifestyle journals make experiences interactive in real-time, offering accountability between appointments. Built-in messaging keeps communication centralized, eliminating scattered emails, social media messages, and phone calls.
The platform offers programs and courses functionality, enabling practitioners to create and sell engaging online programs that grow expertise beyond one-to-one sessions. This capability supports multiple revenue streams while scaling impact. Integration with That Clean Life, the ultimate nutrition planning tool, creates a powerful combined experience for nutrition-focused practitioners.
Practice Better is fully compliant with HIPAA, PIPEDA, PHIPA, and GDPR regulations, ensuring the highest standards of data privacy and security. The telehealth functionality provides a secure platform for virtual consultations with an AI Charting Assistant add-on that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes sessions in multiple formats including narrative, outline, and SOAP notes.
OptiMantra
OptiMantra is an electronic medical record and practice management platform built specifically for integrative and holistic health care practitioners. The system supports providers across various specialties including naturopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic care, and functional medicine, offering comprehensive tools that streamline both clinical and administrative tasks.
The platform's exceptional patient management features include easy patient registration, scheduling, and tracking. Online booking and customizable intake forms allow practices to adapt workflows to meet unique patient needs. Clinical documentation tools offer customizable SOAP notes, treatment plans, and charting templates fitting specialized workflows of holistic practitioners.
OptiMantra's multi-modality charting capabilities distinguish it from general EHR systems. The consult interface supports documenting patient visits in formats that best fit individual practice styles. Rapid charting through SOAP templates and quick import functions reduces repetitive work, while pre-appointment questionnaires bring patient data directly into charts for smoother workflows.
Comprehensive billing and invoicing tools prove particularly beneficial for practices offering multiple treatment modalities. The system supports insurance claims, payment tracking, and invoicing, simplifying complex billing processes common in integrative health care. Integrated e-prescribing allows practitioners to send prescriptions electronically, including herbal remedies and supplements, directly to pharmacies.
The patient portal gives patients secure access to health records, appointment scheduling capabilities, provider communication, and online payment options. This increases patient engagement and fosters better communication between practitioners and patients. OptiMantra also offers HIPAA and PHIPA-compliant video chat for telehealth visits, supporting secure communication and record management.
Why External Phone & SMS Capabilities Add Value
Even with robust EHR systems, practices need to reach patients outside portals through phone calls and text messages for appointment reminders, urgent follow-ups, medication check-ins, and wellness checks. These communications present compliance challenges when handled through personal phones or standard messaging apps lacking encryption, access controls, and audit trails HIPAA requires.
Secure, HIPAA-compliant communication platforms provide encryption and archivable records of all calls and texts. Comprehensive audit trails document what was communicated, when, and by whom, supporting compliance requirements and liability protection. The EHR handles clinical documentation and billing, while secure external communication ensures patient outreach remains safe, documented, and professional.
How iPlum Extends EHR Security to Client Conversations
iPlum bridges the communication compliance gap by providing dedicated, HIPAA-compliant phone lines designed for patient communications. All messages, voicemails, and call records are encrypted both in transit and at rest, with comprehensive archives creating the audit trails regulatory compliance demands.
Unlike standard phone services, iPlum separates personal and patient communication. Clinicians receive dedicated professional phone numbers keeping patient communications isolated from personal messages. Staff can call clients or send reminders directly from mobile devices or computers without exposing personal contact information.
The combination of strong EHR systems and compliant communication creates technology foundations supporting quality patient care while meeting regulatory obligations. For practices seeking complete HIPAA compliance while improving operational efficiency, integrating iPlum with an EHR addresses communication vulnerabilities many overlook until regulatory issues arise.
