An electronic health record (EHR) is a powerful tool for both patients and physicians. Unfortunately, failure in the EHR purchase process, implementation, or use of the EHR can put everyone at risk.
What Creates Physician Burnout?
Clinics purchasing EHRs based on price alone often receive a skeleton of a system. Physicians’ burnout can be an issue if they are left with systems not connected to lab/rad vendors, specialists, or local HIEs, leaving both the physicians and patients at risk.
Physicians may end up burned out due to working extra hours to catch up with their EHR documentation. Because of this, they may believe there are inadequacies with the EHR – when really, the capabilities may be there, but may not have been purchased, or may have been purchased, but never turned on. The good news is that much can be done in the initial stages of negotiation to ensure all the proper pieces are in place for smooth adoption and successful use of an EHR.
EHR Purchase | Preparing Yourself for Success
To help practices and clinics avoid these problems, here are three pre-purchase strategies to follow:
Form an EHR committee and list possible vendors vs. necessary features.
Reach out to other organizations or even a consulting firm to identify essential system options.
Ensure you have a launch plan in place to help with your EHR Go-Live.
Finally, highlight those options in the negotiation process.
After selecting an EHR, purchase analyst services to provide recommendations based on the unique needs of your practice or clinic. Software design recommendations can keep staff members working at the top of their licensure and help to reduce physician burnout. The money spent in this stage will save your organization two-to-three times the cost of making corrections in the future.
An EHR is an ever-evolving tool. It’s risky to think the EHR vendor will keep your system up to the specifications you need without keeping an eye on your needs. Assign a team member to constantly review reports and work with the vendor or an outside EHR consultant to ensure your clinic doesn’t fall behind.