To successfully unlock the power of digital charts, your EHR implementation journey must be smooth and hassle-free.

We have come to realize the importance of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) at medical practices. The benefits range from enhanced efficiency to improved patient outcomes and higher satisfaction levels. In essence, EHR is a digital version of your patient’s charts and replaces the conventional paper-based systems of record-keeping. With computerization flow, a whole host of benefits, ranging from interoperability to application of advanced data analytics, improved workflows, and several financial advantages.

What remains imperative is to ensure a smooth transition from the paper-based system to an EHR. To successfully unlock the power of digital charts, your EHR implementation journey must be smooth and hassle-free. Here are five steps for ensuring a seamless EHR implementation at your medical practice:

Chose the Best Vendor with the Best Solution

You must foremost select a reliable and reputable EHR vendor and discuss your requirements with them. And once you have made your decision, ask your vendor to conduct helpful demos for your team so you can assess its applicability and usability at your practice. Make sure your vendor has the following qualities:

• Has a proven track record in the healthcare industry
• Is an expert in the field with ample experience and plenty of expertise
• Is a certified vendor
• Is responsive to your requests for information
• Offers software updates on a timely basis

Map Out Existing Data Flows to Determine EHR Requirements

Once you have made your vendor and solution choice, you must map out your existing data flows to communicate your requirements to your vendor better. Seek the list of functionalities being offered by your vendor. The next step is to discuss your existing work and data flows and precisely identify what features you need to be customized to your organization. Don’t go for the ready-made solutions available in the market. Instead, get it tailored to your existing workflows.

Forecast Implementation Costs and Define a Budget

Once you have the implementation plan ready, now is the time to determine the cost of implementation. A well-defined budget is imperative to save you from potential over-spending and cost overruns. Devise a budget that includes the following key elements to make sure no unexpected costs arise:

• Hardware and network upgrade costs
• Practice staff overtime costs and the costs of hiring temporary staff
• Productivity losses
• Vendor training fees
• Consultancy costs
• Data backup and storage costs
• Customization costs

Prepare for the Transition through Teamwork

For an efficient transition from the paper-based system to an EHR, you must have a proper implementation plan and a well-equipped implementation team. The more organized your staff is around the implementation process, the more quickly you will be able to get it up and running. Assembling a team with all the necessary skill sets is the key to successful implementation. You might want to consider having the following as a part of your team:

• Project Manager
• Application Analyst
• Lead Trainer for clinical workflows
• Lead Billing and Finance Advocate
• Administrative Support Staff
• IT Support Staff
• Meaningful-Use Manager
• Super-Users

Clearly Define Go-Live Activities and Critical Success Factors

Now is the time to go live. But before that, make sure you enlist your go-live activities, prudently following your implementation roadmap. You might want to include in this list the following activities:

• patient communication guidelines
• system testing processes
• reporting processes
• network speed and reliability checks
• data backup processes

Once you have the ball rolling, makes sure you identify and proactively measure critical success factors for your EHR implementation:

• Perform ROI calculations to assess the profitability
• Record patient throughout to evaluate the efficiency
• Survey patient satisfaction to judge the quality of care
• Survey physician satisfaction to measure user adoption

Following the steps mentioned above will guide you through a successful EHR implementation at your medical practice. Fortunately enough, you can find the perfect EHR system by doing some careful research and practical implementation planning.