In the first quarter of 2014, 40 percent of providers shopping for a new electronic health record system were looking to replace their current systems. The process can be daunting, but there are a handful of considerations that can help a provider decide if replacing an EHR is worth it.
Here are four points to consider in determining if a replacement EHR is the best choice, presented in an InformationWeek report written by Jonathan Everett, vice president of business development at Delray Beach, Fla.-based Quirk Healthcare Solutions.
1. Is the provider about to undergo a merger or acquisition? The joining of two or more providers is a common catalyst to the EHR replacement discussion, as each provider may operate on a different platform. There is no uniform approach to addressing this issue, as each merger and/or acquisition will require its own business and operational needs.
2. A "failed implementation" generally isn't reason enough to switch. When providers are disgruntled over an EHR implementation, the issue often isn't the system itself, according to the report. "The system probably works fine and either the implementation didn't go as planned or it didn't meet the business needs," Mr. Everett wrote.
3. Clinician satisfaction issues are often too shallow to scrap a system. If clinicians say they are not satisfied with the platform, they likely are going to be unsatisfied with any other platform that follows. "The same doctors who didn't finish their paper charts are the same ones complaining about their EHR charts," reads the report. "Either doctors want to do it or they don't, end of discussion."
4. If meaningful use requirements are lacking, a replacement may be necessary. EHRs developed before meaningful use requirements were established likely don't meet the parameters of the federal initiative, in which case a replacement may be necessary.
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