Imagine it’s a Monday afternoon. You’re sitting at your desk when a memo comes through your email. You read the subject line: “Urgent” is all it says. You take a closer look at the body of the message and realize that you need to look for a new EHR vendor—the current contract is up and your current EHR vendor is not willing to negotiate a better contract (in fact, they want to increase your bill by 30 percent!). It’s time for a new system. A clean slate.
Have you ever been put in the situation of implementing a new system? Are you in the process of looking for a new EHR platform? Wherever you are in your implementation, there is a lot to consider.
Before moving ahead with a new direction for your EHR or any software, my first advice to clients is to take a step back and ask “Why?”.
Is the current system not working for your team anymore? Have you outgrown it? Is there support terrible? Is it down too often? Is it simply not in your budget? Before deciding to take a huge step to implement a new system (note: this IS the operating system for your hospital or clinic). It is a big deal and needs to be thought through in quite some detail before pulling a switch to go ahead and implement something new.
Below are some steps to take to make sure you have a successful implementation if you end up deciding that your facility needs a change.
Step 1: Determine if this is the best time.
Is your facility ready for a transition? Before you pull the trigger, consider a variety of questions to evaluate whether this is the best time for you and your team.
Are there technological gaps that might prevent your team from using the new software or using it effectively to justify the investment (both financial and time)? Will your users be able to
Will your facility be able to absorb any additional financial cost? Are there any staffing changes that may contribute to additional expenses? What about hardware and software requirements with the new system? Will there be a loss of productivity during implementation? Will this affect patient care?
It probably will take a little while to walk through all of the details you should consider before pulling the trigger on a new solution.
What are your goals out of a transition to a new platform?
Your new EHR system may provide some real visible advantages, but each platform comes with pros and cons. Establishing key goals in implementing a new system will help ensure that your implementation is meeting your organizational needs.
Step 2: Determine who will be part of the core implementation team.
Having a designated leadership implementation team can make or break your implementation process. Your team will be expected to gather information for this major project and be involved in the development of workflows for your facility.
Your team should be comprised of different facets of your facility—both clinical, practice management and information technology. The members need to have the authority to make decisions on how the transition will take place (and be able to clearly what that means for different areas or departments within your organization).
At minimum, make sure to designate the following:
Project Manager—who will be responsible for ensuring that the project is moving on time and budget.
Lead Trainer for Clerical and Clinical—make sure you have someone on your team overseeing that all of your staff is trained (don’t just simply assume that your EHR vendor’s training team will advocate for your team).
Lead Billing/Finance User—billing is a critical function in your organization. Thus, someone from this team should be involved in any transition.
Administrative Support and Clinical—you should have representatives from the administrative and clinical side of your organization to make sure core processes make sense in the context of proposed workflows within your new EHR solution.
Information Technology—you should expect that IT support is available and ready to facilitate a transition to a new EHR platform by ensuring that your facility is capable to support the new system’s requirements.
Step 3: Educate Yourself
Whether you are an expert in your current EHR and deeply understand the platform you plan to transition to or simply have a nodding familiarity with how either platform work, make sure your leadership team is well-educated on the EHR system before you roll it out organization-wide. The more you know about your particular EHR, the better you will be. Make sure at minimum to get answers to the following questions:
How often are upgrades done? Are they free? Upgrades usually address changes with best practices, government regulations as well as security and operating system changes and technological advances.
Will you get support? Some EHR vendors have excellent support teams, but some do not. Consider the quality of support and whether you anticipate your team to use their support when making a decision on making a transition to a new system.
How do the workflows look and do they fit your services? If you aren’t sure about this, consider getting a few people from your organization to take a look at a demo of the product to understand whether their jobs will be harder with a new system. You might also consider hiring a consultant to help determine whether specific platforms will meet your needs.
