The best general surgery EHRs with billing integration and efficiency features

Selecting an EHR for a general surgery practice means balancing intensive clinical workflows (pre-op evaluations, operative notes, post-op follow-ups) with complex billing needs (ICD/CPT coding, global-period tracking, claims management).

The top systems on the market combine specialty-tailored charting with integrated practice management to address those pain points. Below are five leading solutions (in no particular order) and how they help surgical practices streamline care and billing.

NextGen Healthcare

NextGen’s award-winning integrated EHR and practice management system is widely used by surgical groups. It includes surgery-specific chart templates and mobile-friendly documentation tools so surgeons can chart on the go (e.g., via smartphone dictation) and capture detailed procedure notes.

On the financial side, the platform automates key RCM tasks. It performs automatic patient eligibility checks and claims scrubbing to reduce denials. 

In fact, NextGen’s EHR/PM has been ranked #1 by independent Black Book Research surveys across multiple practice sizes.

AdvancedMD

AdvancedMD’s unified cloud-based suite (EHR/PM/RCM) also offers strong support for surgery workflows. Its enhanced charting includes pre-built and customizable templates for common procedures (hernia repairs, appendectomies, etc.), voice or text dictation tools, and specialty subnotes.

The system centralizes all patient data (demographics, insurance, clinical notes, device implant records), making pre and post-op planning more efficient. It also automates patient intake: surgeons’ offices can send automated text/email reminders, customizable pre-op instructions, e-consent forms, and online check-in tools so patients arrive on time and with needed paperwork complete.

AdvancedMD includes powerful revenue-cycle management modules as well; its integrated claims-clearinghouse, auto-generated billing worklists, and centralized A/R tools streamline surgical claims and maximize collections.

In short, this flexible, cloud-native EHR is built to handle both the clinical and financial sides of running a surgery practice.

CareCloud

CareCloud Charts is another modern, cloud-native EHR/PM platform often recommended for surgeons. It provides customizable charting templates and order sets specifically for general surgery (e.g., hernia repairs, biopsies, laparoscopic cases) so clinicians can easily document procedure-specific goals and findings.

Since many general surgeons split time between hospitals and clinics, CareCloud’s mobile-friendly interface lets them access up-to-date records, lab results, and imaging anywhere, ensuring continuity of care across sites.

The dashboard also presents comprehensive patient summaries (labs, vitals, meds, images) at a glance to help with quick pre-op reviews. Importantly, CareCloud also emphasizes billing efficiency. It uses automated claim workflows and even assigns a surgery-focused RCM specialist team to optimize coding and follow-up.

This helps surgeons maximize revenue by simultaneously reducing costly billing errors while accelerating payments.

CureMD

CureMD’s specialty-focused EHR is designed to save time and money for general surgeons. Out of the box, it includes surgery-centric templates for every part of the exam: chief complaints, HPI, ROS, physical exam, assessment, and plan according to common general surgery conditions.

For example, it comes with built-in lists and flowsheets for procedures (e.g., cholecystectomy, hernia repair) and even automatic drug-interaction checks. This lets surgeons click through relevant fields instead of typing everything from scratch.

The system is also updated continuously with the latest ICD-10 and CPT codes for general surgery, helping practices avoid coding mistakes.

In short, CureMD streamlines day-to-day workflows: by providing point-and-click forms and templates tailored to surgical cases, it cuts charting time and reduces documentation errors, which in turn improves billing accuracy.

WRS Health

WRS Health’s Surgeon-Cloud EMR is built specifically around the surgical workflow from scheduling through global-period billing. A dedicated surgical scheduling module guides office staff through each pre-op step from insurance pre-authorizations and medical clearance to operating room coordination, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

As soon as a surgery is scheduled, WRS’s system automatically queues up the correct CPT codes and suggested modifiers, tracks the global period, and alerts providers about any unpaid post-op services.

For example, if a patient returns for unrelated care during the surgical global window, the system can flag that visit and allow billing. WRS also digitizes surgical consent forms and maintains an up-to-date ‘operatives list’ of all scheduled cases. 

WRS addresses the key workflows of surgical billing: it readies each claim as part of the scheduling process and actively manages the global period, dramatically reducing lost revenue. 

AI functionality at a glance

Surgeons often face long hours of charting, missed revenue from coding errors, and administrative bottlenecks that slow down the flow of patient care. AI features in today’s general surgery EHRs are designed to solve exactly those problems. 

The table below shows how each vendor applies AI across documentation, billing, and practice operations, so you can quickly see where the biggest gains may come for your practice:

In summary

Each of these EHR systems tackles the workflows of surgical practices: customizable operative templates, smooth scheduling of cases, intuitive mobile/charting tools, and tight integration with billing.

All also incorporate specialty billing support (for instance, automatic modifier application, global-period tracking, and E/M code suggestions) so that surgeons capture more revenue from complex procedures.

In choosing among them, practices should consider size, cloud vs. on-site preference, and which features (e.g., AI documentation vs. hands-on RCM) align best with their needs.

Recommended download: Compare the top 10 general surgery EHRs side-by-side. Explore pricing, feature sets, and more.