A study of about 100 million outpatient encounters found physicians spent an average of 16 minutes and 14 seconds in the EHR per encounter, with 33% on chart review, 24% on documentation and 17% on ordering. Whatever you select will shape that time, every day, for years.
1. What must change?
Be specific about which problems the new system must solve. If the answer is broad, the requirements will be too, and every vendor will appear to satisfy them.
2. EMR or EHR?
An EMR is a digital chart for one practice. An EHR is built to share information across providers, clinics, laboratories and specialists. Decide which you need now and which you will need in five years.
3. Who owns clinical content?
Templates, order sets and terminology need clinical owners. Deciding who holds that responsibility before selection helps avoid delays later.
4. What will you do with old data?
Migration decisions affect cost, timescale and clinical safety. Decide early what must move, what can be archived and how it will stay accessible.
5. How ready are your people?
KLAS Arch Collaborative research found a 90-point difference in Net EHR Experience Score between clinicians who strongly agree and strongly disagree that their initial training prepared them. Organisations offering five or more hours of training saw significantly higher satisfaction than those offering four or less. Budget for it from the start.
