That’s because it eliminates much of the complexity and cost associated with installing an electronic record system.

Even if the physician’s office doesn’t have a dedicated IT staff, it is possible to have the SaaS up and running quickly. Recently, GE Healthcare added a SaaS feature to its Centricity medical platform. Centricity Advance is a “plug and play” web-based application and is custom made for small medical practices.

GE understands that time is at a premium for most physicians so training for the Centricty system is complete in just 4 weeks. Another advantage of Centricity is that it requires little to no maintenance. It also includes modules for integrated electronic medical records (EMRs), Practice Management, and Patient Portal along with a secure data center and the ability to access the software from anywhere.

Integrated electronic medical records allow doctors and practices to schedule, document and bill patients and has everything needed to process insurance claims and bill patients. The patient portal gives patients access to scheduling, prescription refills and online medical record information like lab reports and statements via a secure web portal. All the data is secure off-site at the GE data center.

The new platform gives doctors a way to manage patient flow and the practice's revenue cycle. It also provides tools for subscriptions and orders, decision support, quality-of-care reports and compliance with health-care data standards.

GE expects to add an e-commerce feature, which will give medical practices a way to collect and process payments remotely.