When you have dozens of patients to keep track of, it can feel like a challenge to keep your notes straight. The last thing you want to do is sacrifice your valuable time recording all the details. Although it's simple to copy and paste the information from one session to the next, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn't clone EHR notes. Learn more about why copy and paste abuse is a real problem for mental health practitioners and how ICANotes can help.
Is It Ok to Clone EHR Notes?
The short answer is that it's not okay to clone EHR notes. Cloning, or copying and pasting your notes saves time, but it also means taking your complete notes from one date and using them for another. It can lead to EHR abuse, as well as an audit of your practice. That's not all, though. It can also harm your patients by leading to incorrect payments, documents and other records that put your patients at risk.
Your previous notes also most likely contain the initial history and physical conditions of your patient. When you're cloning EHR notes and committing copy and paste abuse, your patient's story can get lost in massive amounts of data from previous visits. Billing can also become complicated if your records are incorrect or inconsistent. Medicare and other insurance companies can deny payments for your patients based on EHR cloning.
Download our Free Guide to Writing Better Notes
This resource is essential for any clinician looking to save time while maintaining high standards in documentation. This guide covers streamlined note-writing techniques, and best practices for organizing progress notes and treatment plans.
How to Avoid Copy and Paste Abuse
There are a few simple ways you can avoid committing copy and paste abuse. It's important to stay proactive and read over your patients' notes carefully before copying and pasting. Only import information from a patient's previous exam if it's currently relevant or if nothing has changed. Also, make sure you're still taking new notes that are vital to the current visit.
Instead of taking shortcuts, spend a little extra time making sure your notes are accurate and up-to-date. Always re-read them before closing your computer or finishing up for the day in case you forget to check them the next day. Only copy and paste essential items or small parts of previous notes that need to be included.
ICANotes' Solution to Cloning EHR Notes
ICANotes has a solution for cloning EHR notes that will preserve the accuracy of your patients' records without sacrificing time. While we don't allow physicians to clone notes, our software is efficient, easy to use and allows mental health clinicians to take notes quickly. Our system requires minimal typing, so you can quickly move through notes without having to type up every detail. We follow industry best practices including dismantling cloning options, so there are no HIPAA violations, copy and paste abuse or insurance fraud. With ICANotes, you can simplify your billing, integrations, charting and more.
Contact us to learn more or to request a free trial of our behavioral health EHR software.
