Buying or switching to new and better Electronic Health Record (EHR) software is never an easy task. Physicians are flooded with many vendors, most of them offering plenty of features. It is common for physicians, hospital networks and medical centers to be unable to make the right choice because they are drawn into buying an EHR software which they don’t need.

So how do they make the right choice? What parameters do they need to keep in mind before making a decision? Let’s try to analyze this in detail.

Usability

First and foremost, physicians and healthcare practices need to keep in mind that usability of the application is very important. It should be user-friendly and be designed in a way that suits practice workflows as well as improving efficiency. Many EHR buyers ignore the usability factor of an application and end up becoming frustrated where usage is concerned. As per a recent survey, nearly 20% of physicians are not satisfied with their current EHR setups simply because they find that they are spending a lot of time in front of computers rather than focusing on patient care. A perfect EHR for your practice must be completely user-friendly and should help you in personalizing care delivery and enhancing quality and patient safety.

Functionality

Another very important aspect of a good EHR system is that it is completely functional with your practice management and billing software. Sometimes healthcare centers and physicians end up buying EHR software that is not fully functional with the existing software that is used daily. A good EHR system enables seamless EHR integration across all stakeholders, thereby enhancing collaboration and care quality with up-to-the-minute information delivery at point of care. Flawless connectivity with hundreds of labs for electronic orders and results, imaging/radiology services, hospital networks, referring providers, patients and family members are also some of the key functionality aspects of an EHR system you should ideally look for to deploy in your practice.

Price

A rule of thumb when it comes to EHR pricing is not to fall for one that is the most expensive; it does not guarantee you everything. Instead, you should make your decision logically after carefully analyzing your practice requirements and workflows. Sometimes, even a medium priced EHR system is going to be ideal for your practice because it will help you achieve the real purpose of EHR – improving patient care, optimizing efficiency and decreasing costs.

Remember, the most ideal EHR system for you will be the one that helps you reduce cognitive overload, supports specialty workflows and clinical approaches with customizable, template-driven, point and click technology. You should be able to use the system from any location with the knowledge that there will be no security lapses and are able to connect with patients, pharmacies, labs, hospitals, radiology centers, payers, health departments and other care providers.