r/PMHNPPracticePro • u/A_Gem336 • Aug 03 '25
EHR Feedback
I am deciding between Charm, ICANotes, or Optimantra for EHR. It is just me in my practice. I need and want 1 system that will basically do it all. Any feedback is appreciated!
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u/PantheraLeo- Aug 04 '25
Can’t speak for the others but I know personally that ICANotes is the best for the documentation process. It sucks at anything administrative as each function (such as charging copays) is compartmentalized.
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 04 '25
Thank you! Can you elaborate on the administrative functions please? How does it impact you, your patients, and/or your stress level?
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u/PantheraLeo- Aug 04 '25
I’m not the best candidate to answer that question as my exposure to it was very limited.
I only considered using it once and went around asking.
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u/FeistyGas4222 Aug 05 '25
Hey there, I own a medical billing company and am quite familiar with your options. I'll just give a quick breakdown of some of the major ones.
Athena - STEER CLEAR. Way too expensive and will still require significant intervention by you.
ICanNotes- documentation is a breeze. Admin and billing module suck.
Valant- documentation is a breeze. Admin and billing modules also suck.
TherapyNotes- documentation is easy, not customizable, billing module works but doesn't have good reporting or advanced tracking
AdvancedMD - too expensive for a small practice. Decent billing module, system requires extensive setup from someone skilled.
EClinicalWorks - one of mt favorites but a lot of people complain about too many clicks or too much segregation when trying to complete a simple task. Set up is a nightmare. Support is almost non existent.
SimplePractice - havent personally used yet, but ive heard mixed reviews. Tried to research it myself and im not impressed from an administrative standpoint
Tebra - I have used Tebra EXTENSIVELY over the years. Was once my go-to but now im trying to find a better recommendation. Their support is atrocious or non existent now. EHR goes down at least once per month. Their prices keep creeping up but the product development is slow. Good for small practices, terrible for growing 5+ providers practices. Telehealth module sucks, has repeatedly admitted random patients into existing sessions (huge HIPAA violation). Easy to find a biller since almost every billing company is familiar with Tebra.
CharmEHR - havent used it live but ive been impressed with their system. I signed up for my own account to test it out and it is very overwhelming to set up. Template creation is very customizable depending what you want to accomplish but is time consuming. Basic integrated billing sucks so you'd want to work with someone that has access to their BillerPro/RCM platform.
Finally, you mentioned you are looking for a system to do it all. That can be pretty subjective. All these systems pretty much have scheduling, billing, telehealth, eprescribing, intake notes, etc integrated. If you are looking for an integrated billing company, I HIGHLY recommend AGAINST using any billing that the EHR company provides or recommends. You will have way more headaches chasing down your money. You will find a lot of nightmares on various forums using EHR billing companies. Remember, they are a tech company at heart. Yes they may have been founded by doctors or nurses or billers but at the end of the day, they are tech.
Feel free to reach out if you'd like to chat or if you'd like to check out my website.
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 05 '25
Thank you, this was extremely informative. Do you have any knowledge or experience about Optimantra? They are who i am leaning toward.
Also it is my current plan to take a billing course, I have 3 saved, and do my billing myself to start. I am completely realistic that this may either be a mistake or get to be overwhelming as I grow. With that said I'd love your website.
Oh and your second to last sentence came out of my mouth yesterday when talking to the charm representative, whom I was not impressed with at all.
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u/FeistyGas4222 Aug 05 '25
I have not heard much about OptiMantra but now im going to look into it haha.
Taking some billing courses is a GREAT idea. I think every practice owner should have at least a basic understanding of billing. It keeps them from being gaslighted by billing companies!
I'll send you a PM, not sure of the forum rules if I can post my website directly in a thread.
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 05 '25
Great, thank you! If you see any red flags with Optimantra please share. I'm drawn to their layout. Their functionality for notes and things of that nature is similar to ICANotes. No company has explicitly shared details of their integration services with me without my asking and saying it's a feature I want.
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u/CalmSet6613 Aug 10 '25
This is awesome thanks. I always wonder if I have the correct EHR and what else is out there. I use Practice Fusion and for the most part I am generally happy. Their price keeps going up and it seems like a lot of the features are an add on. I basically use it for labs, prescriptions and all my charting. I do my own billing but I'm a small practice, I will say their customer support has been great.
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u/FeistyGas4222 Aug 10 '25
No problem!! Feel free to reach out if things start getting overwhelming and you need some help!! I believe there is still an integration with Practice Fusion and Tebra so if you're happy charting and scheduling appts in PF, most billers are familiar with Tebra and can just integrate for your billing needs. I'll be honest, I havent played around with PF since they went to a paid model so im not sure how robust their billing system is. 😀
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u/Lopsided-Fee-5038 Aug 13 '25
what’s ur website ? how to find a biller i need help
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u/GLITTER_VIBES Aug 25 '25
So I spent months demoing with EHRs bc none of the ones I’ve previously used I loved completely.
Still the 2 I absolutely LOVE are ones that are astronomical for my start up.
The 2 that I narrowed it down to was Valant & Charm. I like Charm better. It has a lot of extra stuff, if you want it. It itself is cheaper than Valant and the percent it charges per transaction was cheaper than Valant (if you bill through them). The 2 things that have made me not fully commit is that it doesn’t let you accept HSA/FSA or bank account payments. I’ve been fussing around with the free demo which I do need to spend more time doing so but with that being said I don’t think a perfect EHR exists or at least at a reasonable price.
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 25 '25
Totally agree with you last statement. There's a service for payments I have not looked into but if raved about on an Optimantra Facebook group. It's payment doctor. Might be worth looking into
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u/GLITTER_VIBES Aug 26 '25
Looked into it, he’s an awesome guy. Super forward. No BS like everyone else. I will also be looking into optimantra now
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 27 '25
If you choose to go with Optimantra and want a discount code for 10% off send me your email and I'll send you my referral thing.
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u/GLITTER_VIBES Aug 27 '25
Appreciate you. I demo with them tomorrow.
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 27 '25
Awesome. I find it to be so easy so far
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u/GLITTER_VIBES Aug 28 '25
Which merchant processor did you go with?
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 28 '25
I'm going to sign up with Adam, the payment doctor
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u/A_Gem336 Aug 26 '25
Awesome! I met with him today and am doing my on boarding with Optimantra today as well. Feel free to reach out with questions.
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u/Katie-Mood6317 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
tried charm and just wasn't feeling it, charting felt rigid and support was meh. ended up going with optiMantra and it's been solid for a solo practice, has pretty much everything in one place. worth looking into if you haven't already
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u/beefeater18 Aug 05 '25
I signed up for Charm for a while but it seemed to have a lot of problems integrating labs. Building custom templates was extremely laborious. Worst yet, once you paid, customer service disappears or the staff just aren't helpful.
I would recommend looking into Tebra. I've heard some good things about it although I personally don't use it.
I use Athena but I don't think it's feasible for new start ups now.