Waldren suggests online forums from the various specialty associations. For example, members of the American Academy of Family Physicians can find the academy’s EMR e-mail discussion list at the online Center for Health Information Technology, where more than 1,000 physicians discuss personal experiences with EMR deployment. There is also a Physician Product Review, which rates EMRs on quality, price, ease of use, support and other criteria.
And then there are independent EMR software ratings and reports, easily accessible online. MGMA consultant Rosemarie Nelson has compiled a list of the sites that offer these products and has critiqued them (see below).
Attention Shoppers Compliments of MGMA consultant Rosemarie Nelson, here are some places on the Internet where you can find independent EMR software ratings and reports:Jewson Enterprises CTS AC Group Inc. The KLAS Reports Other sources include The Medical Record Institute, Health Information and Management Systems Society, and the American Health Information Management Association. |
Waldren says it’s too early to tell what affect certification is having on the market, but one thing’s for sure: Business is booming. Academy members tell him that they are now waiting three to nine months for busy EMR vendors to install new systems.
The spread of pay-for-performance plans and other funding sources for medical practices, combined with last year’s slight relaxation of the Stark rules to allow hospitals to donate certified systems to medical practices, better pricing, and a growing awareness of what certification is — and isn’t — may just give more physician practices new confidence in their EMR shopping skills.
Bob Redling has written on practice management topics for more than 10 years. He has served as practice management editor for Physicians Practice, Web content editor and senior writer for the Medical Group Management Association, and a speech writer for the American Academy of Family Physicians. He can be reached at editor@physicianspractice.com.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of Physicians Practice.
