Many health care offices today are using medical billing software and electronic medical records.
Most doctors, as well as office managers, view this transition as taking a step forward to being more efficient, more streamlined.
While some physicians are still adjusting to the electronic age, most have warmly welcomed the change.
Here are the top 7 reasons why:

1. Time is Money - The time it takes for a nurse to write down notes on a chart, the doctor to read and decipher them, and the file clerk to pull and re-file the patient's records are man hours someone must be paid.
   Setting up electronic medical records allows nurses and physicians to directly key in notes into a secure database where the information on a patient are kept all together, safely, and can be pulled up in just a few keystrokes.
   A hard-copy filing system may eventually be eliminated.
   Aside from freeing up wages paid, this could also allow more space for other uses within the office.
   
2. Sharing is Caring - The information kept in electronic medical records can be shared between physicians more easily and readily.
   The age of patients having to wait days for a file to be faxed or mailed to another physician is over.
   
3. People Hate to Repeat - Many times, a patient's paper file grows so large that information can be lost or forgotten by a physician who may not flip far enough down to see past information.
   Putting the patient's history into electronic medical records format keeps it better organized in one location where data can be easily retrieved.
   Patient's should no longer have to repeat the same information to a nurse or physician to keep writing down on one page after another.
   
4. Minimal Mistakes - Information missed may also be detrimental to a patient's health.
   Having detailed information at one's fingertips could severely cut down on hazardous mistakes.
   As well, there is a much smaller risk of patient's files being mixed up when information is automatically keyed in under a patient's personal identification numbers such as social security numbers and driver's license numbers.
   
5. Staying Medicated - A patient's prescription history is kept in the same electronic medical records file, allowing a nurse or physician to immediately pull it up.
   Prescribing refills is automatic, determining whether a new prescription will counteract with a current one is easier when seeing them all in one place, and the prescriptions can be sent to the pharmacy with the click of a button or push of a mouse.
   
6. Streamlining - Electronic medical billing software can be interfaced with the electronic medical records.
   This efficiency keeps a patient's records more accurate and cuts down on wasteful time and paperwork.
   
7. Environment is the Thing - The environmental benefits cannot be forgotten.
   The more we become electronically utilized, the less paperwork we must use.
   The less paperwork we use - the more trees that can live longer.
   The more trees we keep alive, the more clean air we can breathe.