Things to look for when evaluating an EMR Software

Practices need to evaluate the different kinds of EHR/EMR Software available in the market before making up their mind about a certain EMR System. Some of the tips needed in evaluating the EMR Software are mentioned below:

• Know the company

You need to read and find out what others are saying about the company? Forums, message boards as well as review websites usually talk about the EMR companies both positively and negatively. Read the customer feedback as it helps you know the issues and qualities related with the certain EMR. Google keywords such as EMR, EHR companies appearing in the top results are usually the ones that are popular among the clients and get a lot of traffic.

• Focus of the Company

Find out if a particular company focus on only one specific specialty (i.e. Rheumatology, Chiropractic, Neurology etc ) or they try to cater everyone? Opt for those EMR companies that focus on a particular specialty or offer specialty specific EMR. Rather than those companies that offer EMR for all the services and specialties.

• Beta Mode

When a company is in the Beta testing mode it refers to customers using the product and giving feedback to the company. If company is in Beta Mode ask how long they have been in Beta Mode. A long Beta period such as3 -5 months indicates a product that is not well received by the customers and is there are many bugs and issues associated with the product.

• Growth Charts

Find out the growth the company had in recent years. Being in the business for a long time does not necessarily mean the product is good. Which company you would rather choose: a company that is in the business for 20 years with 8000 users or a company that is doing business for 3 years with 5000 users. The latter system has received much better growth than and is well-known. Whereas the former company has a slow growth line or their users are declining. Neither of this is good for the users of that system.

• Retention Ratio

Retention ratio refers to how many users are still using the system compared to the ones that leave. No single system works well for everyone so after a certain time each system will have a decline in its users. Tricky part is to find the retention ratio. It is usually determined based on the term of the contract. Let’s say in a company with one year contract 900 users renew this year and 135 users quits this will equals to a retention rate of 85%. Anything above 90% is good and above 95% means company has a strong future.

• Company size

The size of the company’s team will help give clue about the ability of the company to grow. Look for those companies that have well defined separate sales and support teams. As this will not only keeps the users satisfied with the service but indicates that the company has the ability to pay several people rather than one or two. How to tell if the sales and support are different in a company? Call the support number and check if the same person answers the call. Look for the companies that grow their teams.

• Solvency

Look for a company that is solvent as it will spend more on the marketing as they want to grow. This will quality marketing material such as good website, recent blog posts, regular press releases as well as advertisements in the Industry. If a certain company has a website and it looks outdated, it signals a trouble for the company as it would cost a lot of money to have a dynamic and running website. The overall branding of the EMR Company will provide clue to the solvency power of the company

Keep an eye on these indicators and take out those companies from the lists that do not meet the criteria. As it will get much easier to manage a decision that makes you comfortable