Time for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I hope you’re enjoying the series.

50. Determine how complete the financial reporting is
Don’t assume they have the reports that you want because they have other doctors using their EHR. Have your practice manager or business person figure out the types of financial reports your office will need to run and make sure that your EHR vendor does them out of the box. If they have develop new reports for you, it either won’t ever get done or is likely to cost you a bunch of money.

49. Take a close look at financing your EHR vs. paying straight cash for it
I’ll leave most of this conversation to your accountant. Plus, the decision is quite different in a hospital vs ambulatory setting. In the ambulatory setting we’re seeing a big shift to purchases that don’t require a huge up front fee and/or a bunch of financing. I think this is a healthy change for the EMR industry and one that more doctors should embrace. Also, get a good lawyer that’s knowledgeable of EMR contracts before you pay too.

48. Plan for a rollout gap
The idea of a rollout gap refers to the loss of productivity which is almost certain to come with the rollout of an EHR. The key is to plan for this loss of productivity. Ask other doctors that have implemented that EMR how long it took them to get back to full productivity However, you can also do things to minimize the loss of productivity by having a well thought out implementation plan and good training.

47. Plan for staffing surges
This suggestion is more apt for a hospital environment. In that case, you’re likely going to need a lot more staff during a go live. in the ambulatory setting, you might have a consultant or two around to help. You’ll also want your IT support somewhere close by, but otherwise you won’t have the same surge of staff as a hospital EMR implementation.

46 Know where your charges flow
Don’t underestimate the change in how charges will be captured and reconciled during an EHR implementation. EHR’s often significantly change your charging process. Much of the workflow planning that I do for an EHR implementation is around entering, collecting and billing the various charges. You’d think it would be easier than it is, but it always seems to be more work than we realize.

If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, I’ll be updating this page with my 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis. So, click on that link to see the other EMR tips.

I find it interesting that I was sent another EMR YouTube video. No doubt YouTube can be a great tool for getting the word out, but so far the views on EMR videos are pretty low. However, I must admit that this video by GE Healthcare is much more interesting than the previous meaningful use video I posted. Plus, they focus on physicians number 1 concern: productivity and reimbursement. Take a look for yourself.

This is a part of a post on the SRSsoft website. I am a fan of SRSsoft because I think they have it right when they focus on “provider productivity” as a key component of any “good” EMR. See the link below to see the whole blog post, but basically, they went to Washington to advocate for EMRs which improve productivity and enhance the physician-patient relationship.

This is an excerpt from the post:

The signers of this petition are not all SRS clients. Other providers reached out to us and asked that we stand up for them as well. SRS users or not, they are passionate about EHRs, and they speak from positive and negative experience with a variety of EHR products. Three fundamental themes dominated:

*Physicians will not adopt technology that compromises their productivity,
*They will not become data entry clerks, and
*They will not jeopardize the physician-patient relationship.
*No financial incentives or penalties will persuade these physicians to take actions they deem detrimental, or not valuable, to their practices.

Bottom line is that most physicians (if they are smart) will not be induced by incentive or penalties to take on an EMR unless the EMR makes them more productive! I agree with this. Washington needs to make the definition of “meaningful use” and “certified” flexible enough to encompass EMRs that are innovative and enhance our ability to be great doctors and provide excellent care.

SRSsoft EMR emphasizes speed, efficiency and provider productivity. If your EMR slows you down and makes you less productive, you will lose money and there will be no ROI. More importantly your income will diminish because you will be seeing fewer patients per hour! The $44,000 to $64,000 offered in government incentives (over 5 years) will be insignificant compared to the income you lose due to decreased productivity.

What are your thoughts about provider productivity? For complete post from SRSsoft’s CEO go to: http://blog.srssoft.com/?p=496