Choosing an electronic health record (EHR) system for your practice can be an intimidating task. There are hundreds of EHR vendors in the market, each offering different features, functionalities, and prices. How do you know which is best for your needs and goals?
An EHR system is more than just a software that stores and manages your patient data. It is also a tool that can help you improve the quality and efficiency of your care, enhance your communication and collaboration with other providers, and increase your revenue and profitability. Therefore, choosing the right EHR system is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your practice’s success.
For this reason, to help you make an informed choice, here are five tips to consider when choosing an EHR system for your practice:
1. Assess your current and future needs
Before you start looking for an EHR system, you need to have a clear understanding of your current and future needs. Specifically, what are the pain points and challenges that you face with your current system or workflow? What are the goals and objectives that you want to achieve with a new system? And what are the features and functionalities that are essential for your specialty, practice size, and patient population?
Some of the common needs that practices have when choosing an EHR system are:
- Ease of use and customization
- Integration with other systems
- Compliance with regulatory and quality standards
- Data security and privacy
- Reporting and analytics capabilities
- Appointments, alerts, and billing management
- Telehealth and client portal
- Cost-effectiveness and return on investment.
By identifying your needs, you can narrow down your options and focus on the EHR systems that can meet or exceed your expectations.
2. Do your research and compare different options
Once you have a list of your needs, you can start researching and comparing different EHR systems that match your criteria. For this, you can use multiple sources of information, such as online reviews and ratings from other users, vendor websites and demos, industry reports and rankings, peer recommendations and referrals, and professional associations and organizations.
Additionally, when comparing different EHR systems, you should look beyond the features and functionalities and also consider other factors, such as vendor reliability, customer service and support, updates and upgrades frequency and contract terms and conditions.
The research and comparison can help you get a better sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each EHR system and how they can benefit your practice.
3. Involve your staff and stakeholders
Selecting an EHR system is not a decision that you should make alone. Alternatively, you should involve your staff and stakeholders in the process, as they are the ones who will use the system on a daily basis and who will be affected by the change. By involving your staff and stakeholders, you can get their input and feedback on your needs and preferences, address their concerns and expectations, increase their buy-in and engagement, and enhance their adoption and satisfaction.
For instance, some of the staff and stakeholders that you should involve in the EHR selection process are physicians and clinicians, nurses and medical assistants, administrators and managers, billing and coding staff, IT staff and consultants, patients and caregivers. Above all, this ensures that the EHR system you choose is aligned with your practice’s vision and values and that it can support your team’s workflow and productivity.Select a
4. Consider costs
Certainly, choosing an EHR system is not only a clinical decision but also a financial one. As a result, you should consider the upfront and ongoing costs of the system, such as the purchase price, the licensing fees, the maintenance fees, the hardware and software requirements, the training and support costs, and the potential savings and revenues. At the same time, you should also compare the costs and benefits of different payment options, such as buying, leasing, or subscribing to the system.
Given these points, you need to look for an EHR system that can provide you with a positive return on investment and that can fit your budget and cash flow. By considering costs, you can ensure that you get the most value and benefit from your EHR system and that you can afford it in the long run.
5. Test and evaluate the system before you buy
Before you sign a contract and commit to an EHR system, we recommend you to test and evaluate the system to make sure that it works as advertised and that it meets your needs and expectations. You can test and evaluate the system by requesting a free trial or a live demo from the vendor and asking for references and testimonials from other users.
When testing and evaluating the system, you should pay attention to the user interface and user experience, the speed and performance, the accuracy and completeness of the data, the functionality and flexibility, the compatibility with other platforms and the security and reliability. By testing and evaluating the system, you can avoid potential pitfalls and problems and ensure that the system can deliver the results and benefits that you expect.
Implementing the right EHR system for your practice is a critical and complex decision that requires careful planning and consideration. If you follow these five tips, you can make the process easier and find the EHR system that can help you achieve your practice’s goals and objectives. Moreover, you can also avoid some of the common problems that practitioners face when using an EHR system, improve the quality and efficiency of your care, enhance your communication and collaboration with other providers, and increase your revenue and profitability.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using an EHR system take a look at our previous post Elevating Healthcare Efficiency: The Transformative Benefits Of EHR Platforms. Also, if you are considering switching to an EHR system, ProbityCare offers you a free trial so you can test out all your favorite features before the buying compromise. Start your free trial today!
