Selection 12 min read

Best EHR for Pulmonology Practices (2026 Buyer Guide)

Pulmonology EHR selection goes wrong when groups evaluate systems on encounter throughput alone and ignore pulmonary function test integration, sleep study coordination, bronchoscopy documentation, and chronic disease management for COPD and asthma populations. This guide covers the workflows that determine whether a pulmonology EHR supports or hinders real clinical operations.

What Pulmonology Groups Need That General EHR Buyers Miss

  • Pulmonary function test (PFT) data integration with structured spirometry values, lung volumes, and diffusion capacity trending over time
  • Sleep study coordination workflows that track referral to sleep lab, polysomnography results, CPAP/BiPAP titration, and adherence data from PAP device downloads
  • Bronchoscopy and procedural documentation templates capturing anatomy, findings, specimens collected, and pathology result follow-up in structured fields
  • Chronic disease management protocols for COPD and asthma with severity classification tracking, exacerbation frequency, and step-therapy documentation
  • Oxygen therapy and DME ordering workflows that generate compliant documentation for payer coverage requirements

Procurement Criteria for Pulmonology Groups

1. PFT integration and respiratory diagnostics

Pulmonary function testing is central to pulmonology practice. The EHR must accept structured data from PFT equipment including FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC ratio, TLC, DLCO, and pre/post-bronchodilator values. During demos, test whether PFT results populate structured fields that allow longitudinal trending rather than arriving as flat PDF reports. Evaluate whether providers can overlay PFT trends against medication changes and exacerbation events. If the system cannot display a five-year FEV1 decline trajectory alongside treatment history, providers lose the clinical context needed for treatment decisions and disability evaluations.

2. Sleep study coordination and PAP adherence tracking

Many pulmonology practices manage sleep medicine referrals or run integrated sleep labs. The EHR should support the full sleep study workflow: ordering polysomnography, receiving scored results, documenting CPAP/BiPAP titration parameters, and tracking PAP device compliance data over time. Test whether the system can import adherence data from major PAP platforms (ResMed, Philips) and display usage hours and AHI trends. Payers require documented PAP compliance for continued DME coverage, and practices that track this manually will miss re-qualification deadlines.

3. Procedure documentation and specimen tracking

Bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), thoracentesis, and chest tube management all require detailed procedural documentation. The EHR must support templates that capture airway anatomy examined, findings at each level, specimens collected with location identifiers, and immediate complications. Validate the workflow from procedure documentation through pathology specimen tracking to result review and patient notification. If specimen tracking depends on manual logs outside the EHR, results will be missed and follow-up gaps will emerge in the highest-risk patient population.

4. Chronic disease management and quality reporting

COPD and asthma represent the highest-volume chronic conditions in pulmonology. The EHR must support GOLD classification for COPD and GINA step-therapy tracking for asthma with structured documentation of exacerbation frequency, hospitalization history, and current controller/reliever regimens. Test whether the system can identify patients overdue for spirometry, vaccination (pneumococcal, influenza), or pulmonary rehabilitation referral. Use the FHIR API procurement checklist to confirm that chronic disease data flows to primary care and hospital partners. Quality measure reporting for MIPS depends on this structured data collection.

Red Flags in Pulmonology EHR Selection

  • PFT "integration" that delivers results as scanned documents rather than structured numeric values available for trending
  • No sleep study workflow support or PAP adherence tracking capability, forcing providers to manage compliance in external spreadsheets
  • Bronchoscopy templates that lack structured fields for airway anatomy, specimen site identification, and pathology follow-up tracking
  • Chronic disease management limited to problem list entries with no severity classification, exacerbation tracking, or guideline-based intervention reminders

Implementation Guardrails

  • Pilot PFT integration and COPD management workflows first since they represent the highest volume and greatest documentation complexity
  • Track diagnostic result turnaround and provider review completion rates from week one to identify integration gaps early
  • Build pulmonology-specific template governance that covers office visits, procedures, and sleep medicine documentation consistently across providers
  • Run 30/60/90-day reviews comparing chronic disease quality metrics, procedure documentation completeness, and denial rates against pre-migration benchmarks

Bottom Line

The best pulmonology EHR integrates diagnostic data, supports procedural documentation, and enables chronic disease management without creating operational drag. If the demo cannot show structured PFT trending, sleep study coordination, and bronchoscopy documentation in realistic workflows, the platform is not ready for pulmonology. Evaluate against these specialty-specific criteria and require measurable performance commitments before signing.

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