Risk versus reward, when is switching from one EMR to another worth the hassle?

I was talking to a Doctor yesterday who is a fan of our product and a current user of another. He made one comment which I felt deserved some discussion.
"Switching is painful, but keeping what I have is painful too"

So when is it worth the hassle of switching, and when are you better off sticking with a known solution even if it is not so good. There are no definitive answers, but here are some thoughts...

If your current solution is not funded, and you can get a better solution that is then you really should switch. That's an easy decision to make as the financial case to switch is so compelling, that even a moving away from a product that does not offer a data export would make sound long term sense.

So what about if your current EMR is eligible for funding, but you recognize another product is going to serve your needs substantially better? If you are moving between vendors that can provide a T.O.P.D export (Transfer of Patient Data, a standard implemented by the Alberta government.) you have an increased chance of success. Med Access wrote the T.O.P.D utility for the Alberta government so we can advise you on the pros and cons. However, even with a standards based conversion there are always issues. Beware the salesman who speaks of "seamless transfer of Data." There is no such thing!

If you are a BC Doctor, even if you currently use a product from a P.I.T.O approved vendor you have no choice but to go through a data transfer if you want to remain funded. Whether it is from your current product to the A.S.P/P.I.T.O offering, or from your current product to another. Obviously there will also be additional training issues to deal with switching vendors. However, if you are not happy with your product or support, or both... the optimal time to time to review the risks and rewards of switching would be when you are allocated your funding.

So if you are using a product that is not T.O.P.D compliant, but you still want to look at switching, or because of funding issues you are being forced to... what are your options? This is where it gets complex. You will have to first see what kind of an export your current provider will supply / sell to you and then have your new vendor of choice give you an appraisal of the import. There is no one size fits all type answer, but if you contact Med Access we can give you an honest opinion on your specific data set. If it's not viable, we will tell you... we don't take on projects we cannot succeed at!

Of course you do always have the option of a manual switch, treating the old EMR data as you did your paper files when you first moved over. It's longer and somewhat painful for the staff but you will save the export / import costs and you won't lose any data. The good news is; the pleasure of using a great EMR that can keep up with change lasts a lot longer than the short term pain of manual entry.

And so we return to our original question... Are the rewards of switching EMR's worth the risk? the short answer is;
"Yes if your current EMR is not funded. Possibly if both products concerned are T.O.P.D compliant. Maybe not if you cannot get a good data export, but maybe still so if you have a long term perspective and you don't want to be held hostage to outdated technology!"

Yes, that truly is the short answer! The long answer can only be addressed on an individual case basis. But if you can get an honest appraisal of the pros and cons you are in a better position to make a sound business decision.

If you have been through a switch, let us know your experience and on hindsight was the risk worth the reward. We are listening...

Community EMR

Med Access had a vision of community EMR in mind when we first designed our technology platform. Now, it is an exciting time in our history as we are in the process of implementing the largest community EMR in Canada. It seems heath care professionals are ready for integrated health networks in the clinic, and large scale collaboration in the community.

We have the technology, but we would love to hear your ideas... How do you see EMR solutions actually helping you to execute patient care in a collaborative way? What does patient access mean to you? What should it not include? How can we effectively facilitate information sharing between the Specialist and the G.P?

These are issues we have built functionality to address. However, today's solution is never good enough for tomorrow's new reality. Change is a constant. Please share your thoughts on where you see community EMR heading and how we can help ensure our clients remain leaders in this field. We are listening...

How are you going to choose an EMR? Don't forget Content, Context and Proactive Alerts.

Health Care professionals all over Canada are currently evaluating software vendors. There are many issues to take into account. How will it model my environment? How will it keep up with changes in regulations and best practices in the future? How happy are the current customers of the product? How much will it cost me? These are all valid evaluation criteria. I have heard a lot of great discussion on this subject and I am going to invite some of the health care professionals I know and respect to comment. However, in addition to their comments, I would ask you to consider a few other issues that seem to be somewhat neglected in the decision criteria...

On September 12th 2001 I got a call from my investment advisor. He let me know the markets had crashed. When I asked what to do, he let me know he was just giving me the "information" and there was no way to figure out what to do as this was an unprecedented event.

In an EMR, you have a lot of information. Content. Most of the software you can buy has the same basic data in it. So regardless of which product you choose the information is available to you.

At the same time I received the call from my advisor, some people around the world were getting the same calls but with some added information. Context. They were been given a history of the other times that disasters had hit the markets, how low they fell and how long it took for them to recover.

How do the EMR vendors you are looking at put context around the data they serve up? How easily available is it? How often is this contextual information updated? What is the source? These are all very important questions that all too often go without being asked.

Now had my broker been really sharp he would have called me when the second plane went into the twin towers and told me how to proactively manage my portfolio. Proactive Alerts. Had he contacted me at that time and told me of how disasters had effected the markets in the past and what I should do to insulate myself from the effects he would probably still be my broker today! While good brokers stared at the screen in disbelief, great brokers were on the phones setting buy targets for key stocks to help their clients off-set the damage.

And so it is with great software. Good software gives you all the information you need. Very good software makes it easily available with context to support your decision making. Great software will help you to manage the health care of your patients in a proactive way.

Incorporating an EMR is a lot of work. If, as a result of the investment you practice in the same way as you do today only electronically is it really worth the investment, time and effort?

There is a lot to consider when making a long term investment in an EMR, or considering a switch from your current EMR to another vendor. When you are evaluating the different vendors take some time out from features and functions that serve up data to study the contextual information available and even better, ask how the software can proactively alert you in ways that are meaningful to patient care.

So what do you think is often overlooked in an EMR selection process? Please share yoru thoughts with our users and guests to the site. We are listening...