I am learning that early on what was meant by crm was fairly consistent, basically various forms of sales force automation (SFA).

But the use of crm is becoming wider and more varied.

I’d guess that you are using what crms tend to call “marketing automation”. I’m looking for that too but I’d also like to integrate it deeper into my practice. i.e. use it to automate my practice as much as possible. Not just customer facing communications but also back office workflows.

Admittedly, EMRs do some of this but in my experience, I suppose depending upon your EMR, they leave gaps that crms might fill.

We’re small – 1 doc, 2 support but trying to do more with less. Need to automate.

Am looking for a strong crm/emr complimentary set. It seems to me that the power of either can be greatly amplified by the other. Using both independently doesn’t get you there.

I too have looked at Salesforce but custom emr integration is expensive. I’ve been given quotes from $50 – $150k. Not affordable for us.

The thing I really want is a good EMR built on the Salesforce1 platform but Salesforce doesn’t have one yet and emrs on the app exchange are just starting and not well developed. News is that Salesforce is investing big in healthcare but I haven’t seen much product yet. They also invested in Practice Fusion a few years back but I’m not aware of any out-of-the-box integration yet. Need to change to IDC10 this year. Not sure if I can hold my breath.

Do you have any recommendations or advice that might suit my situation and needs? Do you know of any other good crm/emr pairings?

By the way, we are a chiropractic clinic.

thanks

I’ve looked at Salesforce but

George,

You make great points. The article was written to counselors, but it may not be useful for small counseling practices. Smaller practices can easily use other tools (although, you need to check to make sure the storing device is HIPAA compliant). As we have grown – to multiple practices – a CRM will be beneficial for us to serve our clients better.

The article is written to private practices (mental health related and non mental health) and small businesses… Plus, after doing all that research, we wanted to help those out who would have the same dilemma.

Thanks for reading, George!

Eli