A few days ago I saw that iChartsMD announced a 30 day free trial offer of their EHR and PMS software. I like to applaud any EHR vendor that offers a free trial of their EHR software. I’m a little concerned that the 30 days might not be enough, but from my experience most EHR vendors are a bit flexible with the 30 day number. I personally like the 60 day number since doctors are busy with the day job. However, it’s not a terrible thing to encourage a provider to use the software, evaluate it and make a decision in a timely manner. More waiting doesn’t necessarily mean more testing. It can just mean more procrastination.
Either way, I’m a huge proponent of doing a trial run of the EHR software that you select. I actually think this is part of the reason why the Free EHR software companies have been so successful. Since it’s Free, their “free EHR trial period” is forever. Basically, there’s no risk for a doctor to try out the full suite of EHR products from the various free EHR vendors. Doctors and practice managers love that ability to fully test the product before finalizing the purchasing decision.
In case you’ve never seen some of my previous posts, remember how choosing an EMR is like marriage (part 2), and EMR divorce is ugly. The free EHR trial is a good way to test the EHR first.
Enabledoc (www.enabledoc.com) also offers a 30 days free trial. Our service is a monthly fee or per visit charge and includes the option of practice management. Having an EHR without PMS is really a major mistake that could double labor, software, and maintenance costs. If a provider puts in the time and effort to try an EHR, they will not want to waste it in a trial. No provider has the time to invest months trying something out, but they do need to try it before they invest in it.
Physicians need to be aware of the costs of “free.” They need to read the agreements carefully. One of the major assets a provider has is their patient list and medical records. Groups should be able to get a full copy of all their data, whenever they want it. Giving up that ability means they just lost a major asset.