← Back to Certification & Compliance

An Evaluation of the Technical Aspects of OmniEMR

Prepared by Chong Kyu Kim — October 22, 2022

Introduction

OmniEMR is a full-featured electronic medical record and practice management system specific to wound care, built especially for visiting providers. The user interface is web-based, with input flowing from top to bottom, which is accessible to all users.

Some features of OmniEMR can be customized, such as the appointment calendar, electronic billing system, support for multiple coding systems, and reports. The medical record is viewed easily through a summary screen with a brief description of medical issues, medications, allergies, and other medical history on a single page.

Architecture

OmniEMR was built upon what is commonly known as the LAPP architectural platform — Linux, Apache, Postgres, and PHP/Node.js/Python/Ruby on Rails. The stack powers many websites and web applications today; it is well supported, with the PopHealth open-source project used for MIPS integration, and the software stack is mature and tends to be stable.

The OmniEMR solution consists of three components: the EMR Practice Management (PM) System, the Billing System, and Postgres with PopHealth/MongoDB. The Practice Management System is the main component of the system, providing the application functionality of the calendaring system, electronic medical records, and encounter forms. The code base is supported and managed through the interaction with Integrated Wound Care LLC. The medical billing engine connects directly with Availity using the X12 ledger, and Postgres is the open-source database that provides an efficient medical ledger for the system.

Security

The initial release of OmniEMR uses role-based database security login using mcrypt. Azure login uses Microsoft Azure as the security provider. Two-factor authentication was made for administrator use and user-base level control.

Interoperability

OmniEMR fully communicates with PointClickCare, one of the largest EHRs. Once the provider has the right to access PointClickCare, patient information and patient medical information can be imported into OmniEMR.

OmniEHR supports HL7 and the ANSI X12 EDI billing standards, and can communicate with Availity. Previously, OmniEHR supported AdvancedMD as well.

User Interface

The user interface is web-based, making it easier to secure and access for users, as well as being more familiar to them. The interface uses a top-down approach for all labels and fields, so the learning curve is very quick.

Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter, Arrow Up, and Arrow Down keyboard navigation is supported, allowing you to save or jump to the next section without a mouse.

Installation

Installation of OmniEMR is not too difficult and progresses on a regular basis. Those with the technical knowledge to install common software products such as PHP and Postgres, and perform other typical system administration tasks, will find the instructions fairly easy to follow. The installation and configuration steps are a mix of command-line operations and web-based interactions.

Backup and Portability

Of utmost importance to medical staff is having a reliable backup of their patient data. OmniEMR uses pg_dump, created by the Postgres DB team, for reliable backups. Backup and restore can be done easily using this tool.

Maintenance and Support

OmniEMR is currently supported by the developer team. Tickets are issued to the help desk and issues are resolved relatively quickly.

We use ISO 9001. This international standard employs the process approach, which incorporates the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and risk-based thinking.