How to Switch Your EHR

Overview

Anyone who has ever spent even a modest amount of time with an EHR (electronic health records) solution can tell you how valuable it can be.

By design, an integrated EHR solution  can act as a “single source of truth” for your patients that can bring a practice together like never before. It becomes easier than ever for care providers to communicate and collaborate with one another. The quality of the patient experience improves dramatically, which helps to increase engagement. The list goes on and on.

However one of the goals of electronic health records software is to allow your organization to grow and evolve in all the ways you need. Of course, this means that the  affordable EMR/EHR software  you’re depending on today may be woefully inadequate tomorrow. As your needs and focus change, your technology needs to change along with it. When that is no longer possible, it’s time to shift your focus towards something new.

Thankfully, switching from one EHR solution to another isn’t necessarily as difficult as many fear. It will, however, depend on your ability to maintain the right perspective going into the process and following a few key steps along the way.

Recognizing the Signs: Is It Time to Switch Your  EHR Software?

When your current  EHR solution  lacks features and functionality that could legitimately benefit your organization, it’s time to at least consider switching to something new. There was likely a time in the past where these features weren’t necessarily important to you. But if they are now, you’re looking at the number one warning sign that a switch is on the horizon.

You need your  EHR software  to be able to not only help you meet the demands of today, but to  better prepare yourself for the challenges of tomorrow. If it can no longer do that, you need to find an option that can. Examples of this include:

• Your current solution is not cloud-based, so you’re once again battling the types of data silos that electronic health records were supposed to eliminate in the first place.
• Your current solution no longer integrates with the labs, pharmacies, and other organizations you need it to, thus making communication needlessly complicated.
• You lack customization based on your specialty.
• There is no support for integrated telehealth or virtual services. This is especially important as telehealth utilization grew another 7% in January 2023 alone.
• You don’t have access to other core features you now need like record sharing, Clinical Decision Support services, e-texting, e-faxing, and more.

Individually, any one of these warning signs would likely still be something you could deal with – at least for the short-term. If you’re suffering from multiple signs at the same time, switching to a new EHR is no longer a matter of “if” but “when.”

Planning to Make the Switch? Explore a Smooth Transition to a New  EHR Solution

By far, the number one way you can guarantee a smooth transition to a new EHR solution involves choosing that solution carefully. Remember that you’re going to be relying on a partner throughout the majority of this process to handle not only data migration but also ongoing user education, support, and more. Therefore, you’re not just picking the platform – you’re also picking the company behind it, too.

Always choose an EHR provider that has an organized and streamlined transition plan in place from the moment your relationship begins. Every organization is unique unto itself, so no company should try to force you into a “one size fits all” box when it comes to something so critical. They need to work to understand your specific needs and challenges so that they can come up with an organic transition plan to match.

Beyond that, always make sure you’re picking a solution that includes the features you need today and the ones you might be able to take advantage of tomorrow. Things to be aware of include but are not limited to ones like:

• Integrated Billing
• Practice Management Tools
• e-Prescribing
• Patient Engagement Tools
• Telemedicine

Choose the Best  EHR Software  for Medical Practice Efficiency

As stated, there are a number of features that can help enormously when it comes to increasing the overall efficiency of your medical practice.

Documentation-related functionality, for example, can include things like customizable templates, automated workflows, progress notes, and more – all of which can be tailored to your specialty. Not only does this help to save a huge amount of time during the creation of those documents, but it also makes it easier to share them with patients and providers as well. The time that your employees save can then be focused on other areas of the practice where the biggest impact can be made.

Practice management tools should also be a priority if streamlining efficiency is your goal. Your new EHR software should include things like:

• Appointment Scheduling
• Appointment Reminders
• Case Management Functionality
• Authorization requests
• Eligibility Checks

Not only do these features make the aforementioned processes easier, but they also help to eliminate human error as well. Quality results are achieved faster, which helps to increase efficiency in a way that also improves outcomes for patients across the board.

Steps to Switching: The Process and the Challenges

In terms of switching from one EHR platform to another, the most important part of the process also represents the biggest challenge: data migration.

You need to identify what information you currently have and where it is stored so that you can design a plan to migrate it from one system to the next in the most secure way possible. Patient health records are inherently sensitive so they cannot be compromised during this process, and you cannot afford to lose anything important.

To mitigate risk from this challenge, talk to your soon-to-be EHR provider in advance. Find out what steps they’re taking to avoid issues and learn about what you can do to help make the process easier on your end. Verify the quality of your data backups and check data consistency to keep things operating smoothly.

Beyond that, work with your provider to develop a consistent point of contact from start to finish. How much downtime will be expected during the process itself? What type of ongoing user education and technical support will be offered? If you do experience a technical problem, how long will it take to get a resolution? Who do you call or email? These are all questions that you need to answer before the process begins.

The Benefits of Switching EHR Solutions

The major benefit of switching EHR solutions  is that you improve the quality of the experience you’re offering to patients dramatically. You’re now able to take meaningful steps towards meeting and exceeding the modern patient’s expectations.

People don’t have to wait for things like eligibility verification because it all happens in real-time. Prescriptions can be sent electronically so that by the time someone gets to their preferred pharmacy, everything is ready for pickup. Payments are posted electronically, making it easier for people to submit necessary payments. Claims are automatically generated to help streamline the time-consuming (and often frustrating) insurance process.

Remember that the right EHR solution for your practice won’t just improve productivity and efficiency in the short-term. It does so in a way that lets you and your team focus on the most important thing of all: securing better patient outcomes, no matter what.

• Data is more accessible than ever, making it easy to collaborate with other specialists on the care someone needs.
• Documentation and medication errors are reduced exponentially, avoiding irritating (and potentially dangerous) mistakes.
• Patient engagement is increased, meaning that they’re more likely to be proactive about their health and are thus able to address small issues today before they potentially become much bigger ones tomorrow.
• Your medical practice will save a large amount of money that can be put to better use elsewhere.

Ready To Transform Your Practice?

Switch your EHR software to PrognoCIS and work with our team of industry-leading partners including Amazon Web Services, Surescripts, and TriZetto Provider Solutions.