There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to setting up your EMR for multiple locations. The best setup depends on how your practice is structured — operationally, clinically, and financially.
Opening up your next location - ask yourself:
Are the locations part of the same business entity?
- Do the locations have shared ownership structure, that is the same owners? Or do they have independent or different owners (e.g., a franchise or different partial owners)?
- Do they operate under the same tax ID and NPI?
- Are financials, billing, and inventory managed centrally or do you report on them separately for each business?
If yes, a shared account often simplifies operations and accounting. If not — for example, if they’re legally separate or structured as franchises — separate accounts may be necessary to ensure you have robust and comprehensive financial and operational tracking.
Will patients - or providers - overlap across locations?
- Do patients sometimes visit both locations? If so - how much overlap is there?
- Are you expecting 2% or 20% overlap - that makes a really big difference when it comes to operationalizing your clinic.
- Do providers rotate between offices or offer services at both?
- Again, how much overlap will there be?
The more overlap you expect for patients and providers, the more a shared account reduces complexity by allowing for seamless access to patient records, scheduling, and continuity of care.
Do you offer packages or memberships that should work at any location?
- Related to the above: Can a patient buy a package at one office and use it at another? And how often do you expect this to happen?
- Do you want shared tracking of balances, visits, and loyalty perks?
A single account makes this seamless. With separate accounts, packages may not transfer easily.
Do you need to separate staff access and responsibilities?
- Should front desk staff or clinicians only see their assigned location?
- Are you concerned about protecting patient privacy or limiting cross-location access?
Many EMRs support role- and location-based permissions within one account. But if total separation is critical, separate accounts may be safer.
Do you want centralized control or full autonomy at each site?
- Will you manage operations (billing, marketing, inventory) from one team?
- Or should each location run independently with its own workflows and systems?
Centralized practices benefit from one account. Independent or franchised models may function better with separate systems.
Do you want centralized visibility and reporting?
- Do you want to run reports comparing performance across locations?
- Do you need a single dashboard to see appointments, revenue, and inventory across your business?
A single account enables unified data tracking and easier decision-making. Note, you’ll still be able to pull comparison data across multiple accounts, it’s typically just an extra step of exporting location data.
Choosing between a single EMR account or separate ones isn’t just a technical decision — it’s a reflection of how your business plans to operate. Start by mapping your clinical workflows, staffing, financial structure, and patient experience — and let that guide the right EMR configuration for your multi-location growth.
With OptiMantra, expanding your practice is seamless — whether you’re adding a new location to your existing account or launching a fully separate site. We make it easy to configure new locations within the same platform, preserving shared data, schedules, and workflows. Prefer to keep things separate? We can copy your content over to a new account tailored to your needs, with custom branding and isolated access. Either way, our team handles the setup so you can stay focused on growing your business!
Try OptiMantra for free here.
