Guidelines for Evaluating EHR

Electronic health records, or EHRs, are gaining ground in individual physician practices, group practices, freestanding clinical centers and hospitals nationwide. President Obama's emphasis on the use of EHRs and other health information technology to make health care more efficient, safe and cost-effective has led to an explosion of companies offering EHR services. Understanding how to evaluate an EHR for use in a particular practice setting involves focusing on four main areas.

Functionality

• According to a recent article in the journal Family Practice Management, functionality of an EHR is the single most important variable to evaluate. If the electronic health record does not do what doctors need it to do, it is useless. Evaluating functionality of any given EHR involves thinking about the practice's needs, how each of the doctors works, what kinds of workflow issues need improvement, what paper record information needs to carry over to the electronic record, and what additional tasks or functions the practice needs in an EHR.

Interface With Practice Management Software

• Most physician practices -- either practice-based, clinic-based or hospital-based -- have some sort of practice management software that handles administrative functions such as appointment calendars, billing and paperwork processing. Evaluating an EHR involves making sure that the EHR system either interfaces with existing practice management software or replaces it.

Cost

• Cost is a major factor in evaluating an EHR. Because the installation, management and continual upgrading of the system tends to be a lengthy and involved process, the cost for an EHR system can run from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the practice and how comprehensive the EHR system is. Making a "wish list" of ideal functions and then balancing those desired functions with what kinds of costs the practice can bear is another important consideration when evaluating an EHR.

Overall Ease of Use and Flexibility

• Another important consideration to think about is the flexibility of the EHR system and its user interface. Buying an expensive system with lots of tools and features is pointless if the interface is difficult or if it does not allow individual users the flexibility of various inputs or outputs. For example, does it allow information inputs from different sources, such as a keyboard, fax or scanner? Does it allow printouts, faxes, on-screen reports or printing to disk? Does it operate via a touch screen or do users need to use a stylus? These kinds of issues are important to consider when evaluating an EHR.