Best Free EHR Software & Systems in 2024

Free EHR software & systems assist medical professionals and institutions in digitizing the details of a patient’s health record. As well, they automate the population of forms based on other fields and the communication between healthcare providers and laboratories. That is why they are an invaluable tool for medical professionals and institutions. But how are they supposed to make an informed decision on which no-cost EHR software & system suits their needs best? After all, there are numerous high-quality platforms in the market that vie for attention. With this buyer’s guide, you can read about factors to consider and features to watch out for during decision-making.

Although you are currently in the market only for free EHR software & systems, it does not hurt to have knowledge of how a paid solution works. You can sign up for trials and demos provided by software developers to give you an idea. It is free of cost so you can explore the inner workings of a paid platform as much as you want during the trial period. This can also help in your decision to upgrade to a paid tier later on. You can start by checking the following applications: TherapyNotes, Luminello, and Azalea EHR. These software solutions received high rankings in our free EHR software & systems reviews. You can read the in-depth analyses our SaaS experts prepared so you can compare their features. Additionally, you may be interested in looking at Hippocrate and GNU Health. These are also highly rated systems that you can start using free of cost.

Free EHR software are not suitable for large practices or medical institutions. But there are still practitioners and clinics that can benefit from their no-cost offerings.

• Specialists. Free EHR software & systems vendors are designed for the use of specialists in nephrology, mental health, primary care, solo practices, outpatient care, inpatient care, and more. While there are customized solutions for these, general applications are available and can work for them, too.
• Primary Care MDs/DOs and related specialists. Those who have private practices can take advantage of no-cost EHR software to manage their patient data. They can also make use of these broad platforms with specialized templates for their area of practice.
• Specialists with other designations (LCSW, PhD, PT, DC, OD, etc.). Chiropractors, optometrists, psychologists, counselors, and therapists can streamline their practices with a no-cost EHR system as well.
• Office-based physicians. Doctors who consult with patients in an office can employ no-cost EHR solutions for streamlining patient data.

Many leading EHR software & systems are paid solutions. As they are out of your budget, you may have a harder time looking for one that suits your needs but is easy on the pocket. That is why we prepared this list of solutions to help you jumpstart your search for the right application:

• TherapyNotes. This online practice management software is designed for behavioral health professionals. It provides users with robust note-taking, scheduling, and billing features. Since this is designed with the workflow of mental health practitioners in mind, they can expect it to integrate well with your practice.
• Luminello. This freemium solution provides a free tier that has a robust set of features. You can keep up to 10 notes in a billing period, enjoy Ama CPT code annual use license for free for the first 31 days, and maintain a public profile with a pre-screening form for patients.
• Azalea EHR. This comprehensive electronic EHR solution is available free for Azalea RCM subscribers. It is intuitive and user-friendly, so you can easily transition to it. You can expect a smooth experience using combined medical practice management tools and administration features.
• Hippocrate. This EMR health platform has three primary modules: Engage, Collaborate, and Discover. The first one will enable you to have a patient-centric approach to medicine. Meanwhile, the second module will let you work with other physicians. And the latter will help you discover patterns in patient treatments.
• GNU Health. This digital health ecosystem is for health professionals, institutions, and government agencies. It has six main components. These are the hospital management system, laboratory system, personal health record module, Health Federation, Health Embedded, and Social Medicine.

Free electronic health records software can be categorized according to where data is stored:

• Physician-hosted system. The physician’s own servers store the EHR data. Thus, they are responsible for backup, maintenance, and security.
• Remotely-hosted system. The data is stored in a remote server, i.e. in a third-party’s servers. This means that the third party is responsible for backing up data, maintaining the software, and ensuring data privacy and security.
• Subsidized system. A hospital, a multi-location clinic, or a government agency subsidizes the use of the EHR. The physician has no control over the data since the information is stored in the subsidizing entity’s servers.
• Dedicated hosted system. The vendor’s dedicated servers store the EHR data in physical locations.
• Cloud system. SaaS providers store EHR data in the cloud. Then, users will access the system and all their information via the vendor’s website. The physician or the institution does not know where the data location is, as vendors may move it frequently for security.

Every free EHR system has something that makes it unique. It could be a capability or a particular module only it is known for. Nevertheless, all EHR software solutions share certain features and functionalities.

• Patient records. You can create a record for every patient and keep consultation notes and other relevant information in it.
• Patient demographics. You can capture the demographic information of your patients. This will allow you to understand what kind of people your audience is.
• Problem lists. You can create and maintain problem lists that are specific to patients.
• Medication lists. You can keep track of medications for each of your patients with this feature.
• Clinical notes and document management. This feature will let you take notes digitally and manage related documentation.

Keeping only physical notes and records can be inefficient in today’s hyper-connected environments. Thus, there is a need to go digital when it comes to patient records and communications. The following are only a few of the benefits that you will gain when you implement an EHR software:

• Enhanced quality of care. EHR software & systems, both free and paid, allow you to better the quality of care you provide to patients. That is because you can access features such as drug interaction verification and symptom checks. Plus, you can double-check the medications you prescribe and their dosages through integrated drug databases. More advanced EHR platforms are even capable of providing prompts on patients’ complaints and taking into account risky demographic factors.
• Improved collections. Collecting claims from insurance companies will be easier since EHR software can provide doctors with documentation to support claims. This is further assisted by the E&M coding feature to ensure that doctors and their assistants input the correct codes.
• Support for more patients. Doctors and staff have the information they need at their fingertips. That means less time searching for patient data in file cabinets and folders, which means they can see more patients every day.
• Improved efficiency. Physicians can receive lab results electronically, thus they can examine the patients’ results quickly. There is no need for patients to return to their clinics just to hand in the lab test results. Then, they can prescribe medications and write instructions digitally. On top of it all, free EHR software & systems can accelerate medical charting while minimizing paperwork.

The health sector is making leaps and bounds every day when it comes to patient treatments. To ensure efficiency, scientists and medical professionals need tools that can keep up with them. Because of this, software solution providers are doing their best to develop top-notch applications. In some cases, they are driven by the latest trends in the industry:

Software as a Service. The majority of medical practices and institutions are interested in web-based EHR systems. That is understandable because they bring many benefits. Vendors offer better data backup, near 100% server uptime, and data encryption and security. Plus, users can rest assured that they will be complying with HIPAA regulations, as EHR platforms are now equipped for that. Additionally, you can avoid draining upfront costs since SaaS solutions are more affordable. And in some cases, they have free versions.

Integration of AI and machine learning. These technologies are not new even in the health sector. But before, they were only incorporated in high-profile studies and settings. Now, though, it is becoming a more common feature in EHR. One of the most visible integrations of these technologies is voice recognition.

Predictive analysis. Researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and laboratories have been using this. But now, practitioners can utilize this in treating their patients. This will further allow them to provide seamless patient care and experience without sacrificing quality.

User adoption. Physicians and their staff as well as clinic or hospital administrators are used to having physical paper for their jobs. This is why many of them are still wary of using digital tools like free EHR software & systems. It also does not help that there are less tech-savvy physicians and support staff. Fortunately, you can resolve this by providing adequate training for them to be familiar and comfortable with the solution.

Data security. HIPAA compliance, together with patient privacy, is a top priority in the healthcare industry. Thus, strict security measures are needed to safeguard sensitive patient information. Fortunately, all good EHR software systems use the latest data encryption technology and bank-grade security protocols. These are deployed in both cloud-based and on-premise versions of their software.

Data migration. If you are still at the beginning stage of digitalization, you might find data migration—from paper to a digital EHR solution—quite difficult. Most of the time, this is done manually. Hence, it is vulnerable to human errors affecting records accuracy. Loose papers could also be a big issue. These are among top of security concerns. One way to make it easier and more accurate is to use optical character recognition (OCR) software. This type of software can help you capture and automatically categorize sensitive records.

Customization

Medical administration has standards. However, every medical facility, practice, and team may each have unique ways of going about administrative processes. Hence, EHR software need to be flexible enough to cater both to industry standards and user-specific requirements. Choose a platform that offers great flexibility in terms of customizing workflows without compromising on compliance.

Migration

Converting a ton of hardcopy into digital files will take a lot of time, planning, and resources. Doing it alone would be a big bump on your operations. Fortunately, there are EHR software providers that help users plan and execute data migration processes. Just make sure that your chosen provider has this service before you subscribe.

Costs

Digitalization has its costs, more so when you need an on-premise deployment. You would need the right hardware, software, and support services, which can incur extra charges. Moreover, digitalization is a long-term commitment. Updates on both software and hardware may be needed in the long run. Furthermore, if you are going to connect your EHR to health networks, then expect charges as well. Be mindful of how these costs can affect your ROI and make sure that allot a budget for depreciation, maintenance, and upgrades.

Effective digitalization in healthcare sometimes looks intractable. This is because not all practices use the same standards and protocols when handling patient records. In fact, there are small practices that still only use paper documents. If you combine this with the tendency of people to get themselves checked at the most convenient health facility every time, it would make sense that having a complete medical record of a patient is hard to come by. This, however, is not impossible. It just takes the cumulative effort of all healthcare providers to adopt EHR software and best practices. This, of course, is a tall order given the wide variety of practices and scope of healthcare provision.

But everybody can truly do something about it. Just adopt a good EHR software solution that can connect with wider health networks and supports necessary compliance standards. With this, you can help update and maintain important records that patients and health practitioners need. These include recent procedures, known allergies, patient history, and prescribed medication, among others. And, as you see in this guide, there are free EHR software offerings available. So, it is not impossible to do your part.