Today I was approached by a part time doctor who has been working in the clinic that I support. He is starting a new medical practice and expressed in a very excited nature his need to get an EMR with integrated billing. In fact, he repeated his need to get an EMR quick. I of course told him the proper answer(in my mind).
“I can’t just tell you XYZ vendor is the best EMR for you and your practice without knowing how you want to practice medicine and which type of data entry and flow works best for you. There are too many choices out there. I could give you a list of good choices that you would need to test and see which one fits your style.”
My counsel to Doctors is this: EMR’s are like wives. Everyone likes them a little different. So, don’t ask me which EMR you should marry until you tell me what things you like. In fact, this exposes the real issue. What do you really want in an EMR? Knowing this takes time. Don’t rush it.