The Big Three In Electronic Medical Record System Shopping

The Big Three In Electronic Medical Record System Shopping

Big Healthcare has known about the advantages of an electronic medical record system for quite a long time. In fact, large hospitals and HMOs were the early adopters of these systems, some stretching back to the not-so-good old days of the 1990s, when led screens and arduous UNIX interfaces were all the rage. Yes, collecting and digitizing patient records has been an important part of managing large healthcare organizations for quite a long time, and has provided ROI well beyond the expense of the original systems.

The single doctor and small practice, meanwhile, was noticeably absent when it came to electronic medical record system adoption. The early phase of EMR software was skipped by a great deal of small practitioners, and this did not differ until 2004. Suddenly, Windows PCs and cheap computers made EMR systems far more appealing to the single physician, and early adopters began to surface.

Cue the 2009-2010 Federal Stimulus program, and suddenly there is a budget for every doctor to jump aboard the EMR software train. As a result, the EMR development industry has virtually exploded as doctors rush to claim their stimulus dollars (try saying "free government payments" at any Chamber of Commerce meeting, and watch the ears prick up). Of course, it isn't as simple as just picking a vendor and watching the dollars roll in. There are a lot of things a good electronic medical record system should be. Here are just a few examples:

1. Keep It Simple - Installing and using an entire new system that will completely change your office's workflow is not easy. So shouldn't the EMR system itself be easy to use? Avoiding products with gawky or tough interfaces is the most critical way to save adoption, training and support costs for every physician. Stated simply, the easier the application is to use on a daily basis, the more efficient it is, the easier it is to train staff, and the fewer times a call to support must be made. Keep it simple from the beginning, and you'll save yourself a lot of stress.

2. Run On Simple Hardware - Looking for a Sun Solaris system with single color monitor and specialized language interface? We don't know why you would be. Today, any electronic medical record system with any kind of installation base simply must be Windows oriented. It helps with the learning process, as Windows programs tend to have common interfaces, but it's also key because of the hardware. Basically, Windows computers are inexpensive. So if one goes down, $200-500 will get you a pretty great machine. EMR systems that run on "specialized hardware" are a bad idea. Avoid them like the plague.

3. CCHIT-Certified - Question: what happens when the government offers a certain subgroup of the software industry a big subsidy? Answer: every IT guy with a shingle and a vehicle becomes a part of that subgroup. Everyone "becomes" an expert seemingly overnight. This is exactly what has happened to the electronic medical record software industry. Which is why, thankfully, experienced vendors, teaming up with real doctors, have teamed-up to create set of standards aimed at leaving the bandwagon jumpers behind. It's called CCHIT. And it ensures that you aren't getting taken for a ride by a slightly dubious vendor. It takes an advanced EMR software application to qualify for CCHIT status, so ensuring your electronic medical record system is approved will save you a lot of headaches, both short and long term.

Naturally, there are many other considerations to make when looking at the right EMR product. The three above, however, will provide you with the best start, and a good possibility you choose the best electronic medical record system out there today.

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