So, Which EMR Should I Buy?

"So then, which EMR system should I be buying?" I've received many emails which ask this question during the year and a half since I began writing on the topic of electronic medical records systems. As a response, I've attempted to describe the journey our practice has made in going paperless at the office. Having experienced this form of change management, we have gained knowledge in developing the mindset of taking on new technology to those working in a paper-based office culture.

Still, we're not experts on EMR systems. In our process, we've used and reviewed some electronic medical records systems, even assisting with beginning developments with a different system. This is an important decision for your practice, perhaps the most important decision a practice makes except taking on a new partner. We do understand the difference between a good and a bad electronic medical records system; still there are plenty of good EMR systems out there that we don't yet know about.

To help with making decisions, first ask what you intend to accomplish in your project. Do you just want better efficiency? Are you out of storage space for your paper records? Do you anticipate pay-for-performance evaluations that will require the use of EMR to perform? All of these factors played big roles in our decision to make the switch.

Next, create a list of desired features. Begin with features you must have, then continuing on to those that would be great to have but aren't critical. Investigate in this way until you know if you want to keep the practice management system in use, or go to a fully-integrated EPM/EMR system.

Many systems can operate 'out of the box' with little customization. There is, however, a trade off: user-friendliness is offset by customization potential. An out-of-the-box system is often less-expensive up front, typically used by smaller practices with limited resources.

More robust, customizable, and flexible systems can be daunting for practices short on tech-savvy. In-house IT may need to get additional help from local consultants in order to work with these systems. Again, the trade-off here is the ability to mold a system to a practice's processes and workflow. The larger and more established practices with developed processes may like to change the EMR system's functionality instead of vice versa.

In the end, we selected the integrated EPM/EMR system by NextGen. Our employees view this system as a developer's tool; we've changed the way this program works so it interfaces with the way we do things at our practice. We have confidence that, although an increased investment of time, will be an important factor in the overall success of the implementation.