Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner said the most important thing for software from a health system's point of view is accuracy.
"Imagine if the software showed that the health system was $50 million in the green, when actually it was $5 million in the red," she wrote in an April 3 blog post. "Or that the patient had no allergies to medicine, when indeed the patient did. Accuracy is first."
From the developer side, the most critical thing is that the development is generalized and not hard-coded for a single time or place.
"Here's a real example: the health system wanted something specific to happen if the combination was Doctor Jones and Nurse Smith, but something different to happen if it was Doctor Jones and Nurse Brown. That could easily be hard-coded," Ms. Faulkner wrote. "But it's much better if the system can define the people and the rules. Then, when the people change or the rules change, no new coding is needed. And other organizations can use it, too."