One of biggest purchase decisions you can make for your practice is deciding on an electronic health record (EHR) system. It’s more than just buying software, it’s committing to using a system for the long haul.
Here are several questions to help you vet potential EHR vendors before purchase:
Cost
- What is included with the initial cost? Is there a set-up cost?
- What different pricing options are available?
Functionality
- What is your experience working with practices such as ours?
- Do we have the ability to customize the software to our needs? If so, what is the process and what limitations might there be?
- How often do you publish software updates and are the updates free to your clients or do you charge extra?
- How does your product help us demonstrate Meaningful Use?
Implementation
- Are there additional costs for implementation? What is the implementation process like?
- Is training included when the software is implemented at my practice?
- Can you migrate data from our existing EHR? What is the process?
- How you handle technical support? How quickly will you respond and in what way? Will we have a go-to contact or will we be directed to a call center when we need help? What do you charge for technical support?
- Does your EHR integrate with existing practice management software?
Workflow
- Can you demonstrate how what the workflow will looks like using this software?
Security
- Is your product certified? By who?
- Who owns the data in the software?
- What security measures are in place to protect our patients’ records?