by
Donna Weinstock
The buzz words in healthcare are “Electronic Health Records.” Who is eligible for stimulus incentives? Who has electronic health records (EHR) already? Who wants to go EHR? The truth is that many practices are not eligible for government stimulus incentives, but that should not be the reason to go or not go electronic. Each practice should decide what is best for the practice and for their patients. Increased quality of care should be the focus of that decision.
When making a decision whether to go to EHR, a practice should factor in:
- How the practice’s workflow will be affected
- Which EHR system will work best with your specialty
- What is the long term value on an EHR
- The amount of customization a practice will need with an EHR
- The Return on Investment (ROI) for the practice
- Improved quality care
- Improved access to information
- Better documentation
- More efficiency
- How it adapts to your workflow
- Improved documentation
- Higher and quicker reimbursement which translates to improved accounts receivables
- Government regulations
Even in this “age of technology” most practices do not have an electronic health system. They may have a Practice Management (PM) System, but not EHR. First, determine if this is the right investment for your practice. What are the benefits to your practice? A workflow analysis will help you determine and compare what you do now and changes that will be made.
The cost factor must be considered. This includes the dollars spent to purchase a system, the loss of dollars due to the decreased productivity when implementing an EHR and the increased savings in dollars and quality care once the electronic record system is in place.
How much new hardware will be required to set up the new system? For those who already have a Practice Management System, will the new EHR integrate with that system or will the practice be changing that system as well? Can data from your previous Practice Management System be converted to a new system?
Once the decision to purchase an Electronic Health Record, it is essential to look at several and determine which is best for the practice’s specialty. Ask other physicians in your specialty what they use and whether they feel their system meets their needs. Let employees in the various departments look at the system and determine if the system will work for them.
Again, hardware, data conversion and cost must be factored in. Determine if the new system is CCHIT (Certification Commission for Health Information Technology) and meets the needs of proving Meaningful Use if the practice is an eligible professional.
Look at the amount of customization needed to get the system to practice needs. As you look at a variety of EHR systems, pay attention to the differences of each system. An example of a difference is whether the EHR allows for free text writing. Depending on a practice’s specialty, this might be significant.
Compare the amount of training included by the different software vendors and how the support works after you are trained. Keep in mind that most of your issues, problems and questions will occur once you begin using the system and the training is over. How well and how quickly will you get answers to your questions?
Once a decision has been made and a contract negotiated (be sure everything you want is in writing), the process of getting ready to implement begins. Although your vendor may include someone to oversee the implementation (a project manager); it may be cost effective to hire an objective person/consultant to help implement the system. This person will coordinate vendor services and the timeframe to implement the system.
The process of choosing, purchasing and implementing an EHR is time consuming. It takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months to be up and running. Decisions should not be made lightly. All aspects of the implementation should be considered. Keeping the long term benefits and increased quality of care for your patients in mind will help this challenging transition more manageable.
It is not an easy process, but it might be the right one for your practice.
Donna Weinstock is a healthcare consultant who works with practices to improve processes, implement EHR and help practices grow. She is a writer, speaker and trainer. Donna can be reached at (847) 205-9797; donna@officemanagementsolution.com or www.officemanagementsolution.com
