3 things to consider when selecting an EHR

Electronic health records (EHR) are commonplace in physician practices now, but physicians know they haven’t always made it easier to practice medicine or provide high-quality care. A free online module in the AMA’s STEPS Forward collection can help you prioritize the needs of your patients and your practice to make the best EHR choice. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to EHR adoption, but there are things you can consider before you make your selection. Assess the needs of your practice to determine the most important and relevant characteristics you need in an EHR system. Consider: 1.  Health IT your practice already uses Interoperability is still a major concern for physicians using EHRs, but you generally can find one with basic interoperability. If you’re already using a variety of health IT for managing patient information and medical care, such as e-prescribing software or a practice management system, choose an EHR that can integrate with your existing systems. 2.  Health IT providers and products other health care partners in your network are using You might wish to give consideration to systems used by other groups you often interact with to help ensure you choose a system that can integrate, or at least communicate, with these other systems. Without this capability, some paper-based processes will remain unchanged even with an EHR. For example, instead of transmitting lab tests and referrals electronically, you’ll still have to sen...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news