EMR Educate - Implementation Issues

Time to Buy an EMR/PM System

Okay, you've followed all of the good advice within the EMR Match™ platform, you've memorized all of the educational materials, you've run EMR Screen™ three times, you've used EMR Select™ to full advantage, and now it's time to pull the trigger and buy an EMR/PM system. What comes next?

What Your EMR/PM System Vendor Will Do For You

Most EMR/PM system vendors will provide implementation services for you. That is, for a local installation of an EMR/PM system, the vendor will come to your location, install its software on your client server, perform some tests, confirm a valid installation, and help you get your work stations up and running. After that, your vendor will train your staff on the new system. Training can take place at your location (onsite), at the vendor's location (offsite), online, or some combination of these. Of course, your vendor charges an extra fee for all of these services.

What Your EMR/PM System Vendor Won't Do For You

Your vendor will not help you buy the hardware necessary to run and use your new EMR/PM system (client server, personal computers and Tablet PCs, network hardware, etc.), configure your hardware, or create your system "network", whether wired, wireless, or a combination. In addition, your vendor will not help you plan your implementation process, mainly because the vendor wants to avoid responsibility for bad implementation outcomes. If you haven't used an EMR/PM system consultant up to this point in your acquisition process, now is definitely the time to hire one. You've reached a major milestone in your EMR/PM system project by having selected your new system, but there's still a lot of work to get done, and lots of mistakes that can be made along the way.

Planning

Planning and "staging" the implementation of your new EMR/PM system are very close in importance to selecting the right EMR/PM system to implement. Good planning can produce a comfortable and seamless transition to use of your new system, with minimal disruption to your practice and patient relations. A bad planning process can produce a miserable experience, with angry staff and patients, lost productivity and revenue, and a sinking feeling of buyer's remorse.

Buying Hardware

There's no magic formula for selecting the right hardware or getting the best pricing. You EMR/PM system vendor will provide specifications for an "optimal operating environment", but it's up to you to choose the right hardware and get the best pricing available. Your consultant can be invaluable in selecting and purchasing your necessary hardware.

Deployment or "Going Live"

Again, planning is key. You need to establish the sequence of events that must occur after you have purchased an EMR/PM system and before you can "go live". Unless you have competent technical staff onsite, rely on your consultant to help you reach a state of readiness prior to deployment.