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An Apples-to-Apples Comparison of EHR Systems
Deciding to upgrade to a complete EHR solution is just the first part of the equation for many practices. The next step is deciding which one to buy. Thanks to Dr. Carolina Samuels, one of DrFirst’s Hospital Services Group consultants, this decision just got a lot simpler.
Dr. Samuels worked with a team to create an online searchable database, named the EHR Selector, that provides unbiased information on numerous ONC-certified electronic health records systems. Now providers, practice managers, and consultants can pull a list of suitable EHRs based on a practice’s unique requirements, such as:
- Medical specialty
- Practice size
- Technology standards
- Price
- HIPAA, CCHIT, and Meaningful Use criteria
If you’re a provider signed up with a regional extension center that offers a list of qualified EHR solutions, it’s still worth your while to use the EHR Selector. That’s because most RECs based their qualifications before ONC-certification groups ever certified a single EHR. And without this certification, an EHR won’t officially meet key HITECH Act and Meaningful Use qualifications.
Be aware that pulling the most appropriate list of EHRs will take you more than one session. This is a professionally developed database meant to help users define their correct requirements and discover the most closely matched EHR systems. Search criteria includes more than 600 features and functions, so best results will typically call for several sessions. By the same token, this also makes the EHR Selector an excellent requirements analysis tool. Providers can feel confident using the findings as part of their vendor RFPs. On a separate note, we are not able to verify that they have the most up to date information on all EMRs available on the market, so take the results with a grain of salt.
The EHR Selector is available on a subscription basis with varying price tiers. Check it out at www.ehrselector.com.
We’ll close with a reminder to readers, that if you are still in research mode for an EHR, you should consider getting an interim solution with DrFirst’s Rcopia-MU, cheap and easy, and guaranteed to meet all 25 Meaningful Use criteria. Make sure you don’t miss the 2011 window for incentives, and take your time selecting the RIGHT EHR for your practice!