You should also expect any paperless move to take time. “I think too little time is spent by groups thinking of the EMR as a transition versus a start-stop. Practices should see the EMR as an evolution, which will be more likely to succeed,” says Nelson.

Still, not everyone is able to make that final leap. “There are a lot of people who are just scared. Even though they have come up with the plan, they are scared to throw away that paper,” says Bonini. “If you are scared to jump off a diving board, you’re never going to jump. You’ve got to be able to have the confidence that you have a good plan.”

Robert Anthony, a former associate editor for Physicians Practice, has written for the healthcare and practice management industries for five years. His work has appeared in Physicians Practice, edge, Humana’s Your Practice, and Publishers Weekly. He is based in Baltimore and can be reached via editor@physicianspractice.com.

This article originally appeared in the May 2007 issue of Physicians Practice.