EHR

Are you transitioning to a new EHR?  It's exciting to imagine the benefits you'll enjoy when your new system is finally in place -- but it can be a little nerve-racking to consider the process of getting there.  (If you've already done it once, you know that unexpected things can go wrong -- and that your practice productivity can take a hit while you try to resolve surprise snags.) Your best defense: planning.  To paraphrase President Eisenhower's famous quote,  plans may ultimately be useless in preparing for battle, because surprise problems are almost inevitable, but the experience of planning is indispensable.  Setting aside enough time for planning allows your entire team to understand the scope of what you're undertaking. It puts the challenge into a realistic frame, to help head off frustration when things don't proceed perfectly. It helps you recognize the pieces of your implementation that will cause the biggest headaches if they fail, so you can prioritize better. And, while the point of Eisenhower's quote is that it's impossible for any plan to predict everything that could go wrong, planning does give you the opportunity to prevent some problems before you get started. The process of planning may feel like wasted time, but nothing could be further from the truth. Rushing in without allowing enough time for planning increases the likelihood of a difficult problem that isn't easily solved while you're up and running. It's much harder to repair the automobile while you're rolling down the freeway. If you've got an EHR transition coming up, I hope you'll join my upcoming webinar (free), "Five Tips for an Optimal EHR Transition," on March 15 at 11AM Pacific.

If you are among the many, many practices that are considering an EHR switch in 2016, you won't want to miss my webinar this Wednesday, 1/20/16, at 11 Pacific/2 Eastern.  It's a short, sweet, 30-minute presentation with 7 steps you can take to organize your search and decision-making. The webinar is free, courtesy of sponsor Care360.  And it's the first of a two-part mini-series on choosing and implementing a new EHR for satisfaction and success.  Sign up for free, and you'll have access to the recording (in case you can't be there at the live presentation), and also get an automatic reminder of the second presentation.  (But I hope that you'll join us live so that you can share any questions or comments.) Here is the signup link.  Hope to see you online on 1/20 at 11AM Pacific.

Is New Year, new EHR your practice's resolution? You're not alone. Software Advice analyzed requests for EHR recommendations through its system, and they found that the number of buyers replacing an existing EHR increased 59% in 2015 versus 2014, and that 60% of their total buyer population was switchers. Practices as a whole are more experienced with EHRs, and therefore better able to prioritize what they want from a system. Systems have also steadily improved in recent years, becoming more responsive to physician and practice management needs. And the cloud has allowed for much faster roll-out of improvements, while keeping costs in line. It all adds up to make switching a much more attractive option than in the past -- and it makes sticking with a system that's unsatisfactory a lot less tolerable than it used to be. If you're looking to switch, your biggest concern is probably to ensure you're making an upgrade -- and not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Because even though switching has gotten easier, and better systems have helped lower the risk, an EHR change is still a considerable undertaking, and will likely come with significant learning and conversion costs (even if the software itself is no more expensive). I'll be sharing some best practices for making an EHR change in a free webinar on January 20th, sponsored by Care360, entitled, "Seven Steps to Choosing an EHR." It's a 30-minute presentation (so you'll still have time for everything else you'll need to get done, and maybe time to grab a sandwich!).  It's at 11 Pacific/2 Eastern, and I hope you'll join me. This webinar is Part 1 of a two-part mini-series entitled, "Choose Wisely, Implement Well for EHR Success and Satisfaction."  Sign up for "Seven Steps," and you'll automatically receive a reminder about Part 2 -- plus you will have access to a recorded version of the presentation in the event you can't attend live. Please join us if you can -- it's always a pleasure to answer questions and hear your feedback live!