How to Choose Your EMR System | medicalrecords.com
With approximately 400 vendors selling EMR systems, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. While each practice has unique needs, many health care providers have used the following criteria to narrow down the list of preliminary EMR vendors to ones that are suitable for their practice.
Certification for Federal EMR Incentive Payments
Virtually all health care providers want to make sure the EMR system they install will qualify for federal payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). These federal payments require providers to make “meaningful use” of an EMR system accredited by a proper certification authority. It’s important to note that there are several stages to meaningful use, all of which must be met for ongoing payments, and that the regulations for Stage Two meaningful use, for instance, have not been formalized as of January, 2012.
Accreditation of EMR systems (or individual software modules within an EMR suite) is made by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). As of January, 2012, there are five such certification bodies, with Drummond Group, Inc. and the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) being the most widely known. EMR systems do not have to be certified at the time of installation, but will need to be so qualified before payments can be received.
Practice Specialty & Size
Workflows and system requirements vary widely for different medical specialities, and this should be reflected in the EMR system you choose. While there are similarities across specialties and not every particular need can be matched exactly, it’s important to choose and EMR who has the functionality you need for your practice and has demonstrated acceptance in the marketplace for practices in your speciality or one similar to it.
Systems needs can vary widely depending on practice size, as well as on client population. Again, look for vendors with experience in practices with needs and characteristics similar to your own.
System Architecture
EMR systems can either be built using an on-site computer server or via internet-based access to a “cloud” service.
EMR systems can be built using an onsite computer server providing central storage of records, and some providers find this preferable, since they feel more comfortable meeting their HIPAA security obligations when they are in control of the underlying data and storage systems. However, a client /server system such as this requires that providers maintain and upgrade these systems as needed to keep them fully functional.
Web or cloud-based architectures are often referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) systems, since the application logic, programs and patient data are accessed remotely via the internet. In these systems, security provisioning and system maintenance is assumed by the SaaS vendor, and many health care providers prefer the fact that these tasks are taken care of remotely. The quality and consistency of internet access can be a determining factor for these systems, since they provide limited functionality when disconnected from the web-based server.
Other Features
The most common additional feature that is requested by health care providers is automatic transcription of medical notes, since it can be significantly faster than typing. Meaningful use includes a requirement that more than 50% of patients receive a clinical summary within three business days after office visits. Many providers find it easiest to dictate using a transcription system and conclude an office visit by handing the patient a hard copy of the clinical summary or electronically transmitting it to them. Medical terminology makes many general purpose systems inappropriate for a medical environment, and Dragon Dictation has the lion’s share of the market.
For most practices, installation, setup, training and maintenance will also be important items to review.
Takeaways
There are approximately 400 EMR vendors, but you can use simple criteria to narrow the field down for more in depth review.
Key criteria include: EMR accreditation; practice specialty and size; system architecture; transcription capabilities.
You can begin your selection process at Medicalrecords.com’s MRCbase directory of EMR systems.