25 Questions to Ask When Selecting an EHR
Multi-Practitioner Offices
If your practice is considering an EHR (electronic health record system) or you are replacing an old system, it is important to ask the right questions before making such a significant investment. Below is a comprehensive list of questions that practices should consider asking before choosing a potential vendor.
- Tell us about your company? How long have you been in business? How many customers do you have?
- Tell us about your product? What features and functionalities does it have? What kind of reporting features does it have? Do you have a lab interface? Do you have e-prescription?
- Do you have a Patient Portal, Practice Management system, and Health Information Exchange?
- Is your product certified by an authorized certification body?
- Does your product meet all meaningful use requirements?
- Is your product ICD-10 ready?
- How well does the product work for our medical specialty?
- Do you have templates specific for our specialty?
- How you handle technical support? What do you charge for technical support?
- What is your implementation process? How long will it take?
- Will your product integrate with our existing practice management system (PMS)?
- Does your product integrate with our local hospital(s) EHR and the EHR other large practices in our area utilize?
- How will our existing paper records be converted into the EHR and what is the process? Or how will our current electronic records be transferred into your system?
- How do you ensure the security of our patients’ records?
- How do you handle software updates?
- How many days of training do you provide? Do you provide ongoing training and how often?
- Have you worked with practices similar to ours?
- How easy is it to use your product? Is it user-friendly?
- Do you have a recommended hardware list?
- Do you provide support for hardware, networking, etc.?
- What type of warranty do you provide?
- Can you give us a demo of your product?
- What are the costs? What is the price for the first physician license? Do you offer a discount for additional doctors? Do you offer a discount for non-physician users?
- What is the total cost of implementation including hardware, networking, software license, installation, training, etc.? What is the monthly support fee? Are there any hidden charges? What is the total cost of ownership over five years? How do you calculate ROI?
- Can you send us a proposal?
Investing in a new EHR requires a significant investment of time and money. It is imperative to consider multiple systems, compare different products, and ask a lot of questions before finding the right fit and entering into a long-term relationship with a vendor.