Occupational therapy EHR checklist: What to look for before you buy
Choosing an electronic health record (EHR) is a significant decision for an occupational therapy practice. The right system should support clinical documentation while also making everyday tasks such as scheduling, billing, client communication, and reporting easier to manage.
When several platforms offer similar-looking feature lists, determining which one actually fits your practice can be challenging.
Before signing up for an EHR, use this article as your occupational therapy EHR guide to compare your options, identify potential limitations, and determine which features matter most for your practice.
Key takeaways
- The best EHR for an occupational therapy practice should fit your actual clinical and administrative workflows, not simply offer a long list of features.
- Prioritize must-haves such as OT-specific documentation, goal tracking, scheduling, billing, security, and client management before considering nice-to-have features.
- Look beyond the advertised price. Migration, additional users, teletherapy, claims, payment processing, and AI documentation can all affect the total cost of an EHR.
- Before committing, use demos and trials to test common workflows yourself and confirm that the EHR can scale as your practice grows.
Streamline your practice with One EHR
- Scheduling
- Flexible notes
- Template library
- Billing & payments
- Insurance claims
- Client portal
- Telehealth
- E-fax
Why use an occupational therapy EHR checklist?
EHR platforms can vary considerably in how their features work in practice. A system may advertise documentation, billing, teletherapy, and scheduling, but that does not necessarily mean those features will support an occupational therapy workflow.
There is no “one size fits all” approach to EHR adoption, according to an article from the American Medical Association education hub.
For example, a documentation system may offer customizable templates but lack efficient ways to track goals from session to session. A platform may process insurance claims but charge separately for certain billing features.
"Each practice should consider its own unique needs and resources when deciding which EHR works for them," the AMA website states.
Using the same checklist for every EHR you evaluate makes it easier to compare vendors consistently. Before scheduling demos, identify your practice’s must-have features, nice-to-have features, and potential deal breakers.
Feature capabilities
When evaluating EHRs, start by identifying the functions in your practice that you cannot operate efficiently without. For an insurance-based pediatric OT practice, recurring scheduling, goal tracking, authorization management, and claims processing may be must-haves. An integrated home exercise program or AI note generator may be useful but not essential.
Develop a scoring system
To make your search more objective, use a scoring system similar to the one below to help you analyze nice-to-have vs must-have functionality.
0=Not available
1=Available, but does not adequately meet your needs
2=Meets your requirements
3=Exceeds your requirements
Instead of Asking… | Ask This… |
|---|---|
Do you offer OT documentation? | Can you show me how an OT evaluates a client, documents a session, and tracks goals over time? |
Do you offer scheduling? | Can I create recurring appointments and manage multiple clinicians or locations? |
Do you offer invoicing and billing? | Can you show me how to create and send invoices or statements, collect payments, and track outstanding balances? |
Do you handle insurance billing? | Can you walk me through claim submission, tracking, ERAs, and authorizations? |
Do you offer teletherapy? | Is teletherapy integrated, and are there additional fees or usage limits? |
Do you provide reports? | Can you show me the actual clinical, financial, and productivity reports? |
Is the system customizable? | Which workflows and templates can I customize myself? |
What does it cost? | What will my total cost be after users, migration, claims, teletherapy, AI, and other add-ons? |
Clinical documentation functionality
Documentation is one of the most-used parts of an EHR. Look beyond whether a platform simply offers notes and ask how well its documentation tools fit OT practice.
Check if the EHR offers:
- OT-specific templates: “Many EHR systems include documentation templates or allow users to create their own," according to the authors of an article that appeared in the Paediatrics & Child Health journal. Check if evaluations, daily treatment, progress, and discharge templates are appropriate for occupational therapy.
“Once you feel comfortable using templates, they can significantly reduce the time required to chart for patient visits, findings, referrals, etc.," a Paediatrics & Child Health article states.
- Custom templates: Determine whether you can add, remove, or modify fields to fit your documentation style.
- Evaluations and progress notes: Confirm that information can be forwarded when appropriate to reduce repetitive entry.
- Treatment plans/goals: Determine if therapists can create measurable goals and easily track progress across sessions.
- AI documentation options: Check if AI tools are available, find out what they generate, how the information is reviewed, and whether they are included in the subscription or priced separately.
Scheduling details
Scheduling tools should accommodate how therapy practices actually operate, particularly when clients attend recurring appointments.
Verify the following:
- Recurring appointments
- Automated reminders
- Calendar management
- Multiple clinicians/locations
- Group appointments, if applicable
Billing and invoicing capabilities
A key part of running an occupational therapy practice.
Ask about:
- Invoicing/statements
- Online payments/autopay
- Credit cards on file
Insurance support
If your practice bills insurance, examine the entire claims workflow rather than simply checking whether the EHR offers billing.
Determine if the platform supports:
- Insurance billing
- Claim validation/tracking
- Electronic remittance advice (ERA) posting
- Insurance authorizations
Teletherapy integrations
If your practice provides teletherapy, determine whether it is built directly into the EHR or requires a separate platform.
Evaluate:
- Integrated video
- Interactive therapy tools
- Screen sharing
- Client accessibility
- Teletherapy pricing or usage limits
Client management accessibility
Client management features can reduce administrative work before and between appointments.
Look for:
- Digital intake and consent forms
- Client or caregiver portal
- Secure messaging
- Document management
- Easy access to client records
Reporting capabilities
Reporting becomes increasingly important as practices grow. Before purchasing, ask the vendor to show you the actual reports available.
Check for:
- Revenue and payment reports
- Balance reports
- Claims and denial reports
- Clinician productivity reports
- Service or appointment reports
Security and compliance needs
Not every healthcare-focused platform automatically meets your practice security requirements.
Verify:
- HIPAA compliance
- Role-based user permissions
- Data protection and encryption
- Audit or activity logs when applicable
- Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
Implementation and support
An EHR may work well after implementation, but still create significant disruption during transition.
Before signing a contract, ask about:
- Onboarding
- Data migration from your current system
- Migration fees
- Staff training
- Training resources
- Customer support availability
- Typical response times
Practice Management + EHR + Telehealth
Manage more in less time in your practice with TheraPlatform
Red flags to watch for when evaluating an EHR
Pay attention to what is difficult to verify during the buying process. Potential red flags include unclear pricing, important features available only as paid add-ons, limited customization, lengthy contracts without an adequate trial period, or vague answers about data migration and support.
Be cautious when a vendor says a feature is supported without showing how it works. Ask to see the exact workflow whenever possible.
Also, consider scalability. Ask if the system will still meet your needs if you add clinicians, locations, new service types, or a larger client caseload, and if and how pricing and functionality change as your practice grows.
Occupational therapy EHR questions
When comparing EHRs, use the following questions for every vendor:
- Does it support OT-specific documentation and customizable templates?
- Can therapists track goals and progress across sessions?
- Does it support individual and group therapy?
- Does scheduling accommodate recurring appointments?
- Can it manage insurance claims, ERAs, and authorizations?
- Can clients complete forms and make payments electronically?
- Is teletherapy integrated or separate?
- What clinical, financial, and operational reports are available?
- Does it meet applicable HIPAA and security requirements?
- What data can be migrated from your current system?
- What onboarding, training, and ongoing support are included?
- Is pricing transparent?
- Which features carry additional fees?
- Can the platform accommodate additional clinicians or locations and services as the practice grows?
Free Resources for Therapists
Click below and help yourself to peer-created resources:
What to do before making your final decision
Once you have narrowed down your options to two or three EHRs, test the workflows your team will use most frequently. Create a sample client, schedule a recurring appointment, complete a treatment note, update a goal, submit or walk through a claim, and run a report.
In addition, if you offer teletherapy, test how a client joins a session. Calculate the total cost and include data migration, additional users, claims, payment processing, teletherapy, AI documentation, and any other add-ons your practice expects to use.
Remember: the best time to uncover an EHR’s limitations is during the demo and trial period, not after staff training and client records have been migrated.
Streamline your practice with One EHR
- Scheduling
- Flexible notes
- Template library
- Billing & payments
- Insurance claims
- Client portal
- Telehealth
- E-fax
Resources for occupational therapists
TheraPlatform is an all-in-one EHR, practice management, and teletherapy software built with AI-powered notes for therapists to help them save time on admin tasks. It offers a 30-day risk-free trial with no credit card required and supports different industries and sizes of practices, including occupational therapists in group and solo practices.
More resources
- Therapy resources and worksheets
- Therapy private practice courses
- Ultimate teletherapy ebook
- The Ultimate Insurance Billing Guide for Therapists
- The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Private Therapy Practice
- Insurance billing 101
- Practice management tools
Free video classes
- Free on-demand insurance billing for therapist course
- Free mini video lessons to enhance your private practice
- 9 Admin tasks to automate in your private practice
References
- EHR Software Selection and Purchase: Understand Practice Needs and Evaluate Readiness for Selection and Purchase, Electronic Health Records, AMA Steps Forward, ama ed hub. https://edhub.ama-assn.org/steps-forward/module/2702748
- Wuerth, R., Campbell, C., & King, W. J. (2014). Top 10 tips for effective use of electronic health records. Paediatrics & Child Health, 19 (3), 138–138. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3959973
FAQs about how to choose the best EHR for your occupational therapy practice
What should occupational therapists look for in an EHR?
Look for an EHR that supports OT-specific documentation, goal tracking, recurring scheduling, billing, client management, reporting, security, and any teletherapy services your practice needs.
How can I compare occupational therapy EHR systems?
Create a consistent checklist of must-have and nice-to-have features, then score each platform based on how well it meets your requirements. The article suggests a simple 0–3 scoring system to make comparisons more objective.
What should I test during an EHR demo or trial?
Test the workflows you use most often, such as creating a client, scheduling recurring appointments, completing notes, updating goals, processing claims, and running reports. If you provide teletherapy, test the client experience as well.
