There are several important considerations when choosing an EHR system. These include: Costs, Interoperability, Usability, and Cloud-based. Weighing all of these factors will help you decide which system is best for you. There are also some pros and cons of each system. To get the best deal, choose a system that offers a combination of these features. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of EHR.
Interoperability
EHR systems should be interoperable, so that information from different healthcare providers can be shared with one another. The GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, sets forth a number of principles to ensure the safe and effective transfer of health information. One such principle is data minimization, in which the personal information collected in EHR systems should be relevant and comprehensive for the intended healthcare purpose. In addition, patient data should be accurate and up-to-date, and stored for only as long as necessary. The time limit can be agreed upon by all stakeholders, and the duration of the data transfer should be as short as possible.
Costs
The Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption has estimated the average upfront, yearly, and five-year costs of EHR systems. Based on experiences of Regional Extension Centers in the field, these estimates are intended to provide guidance on how to budget for the implementation of EHRs. These estimates take into account five key components of EHR implementation: hardware costs, software licenses, maintenance, and support. Costs may vary from practice to practice.
Usability
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is a federal agency that promotes standards and functionality of electronic health record (EHR) systems. In order to achieve this, vendors of EHRs are required to measure the usability of certain capabilities. The average SUS score across 27 of the most common EHR products was 75. Despite this low number, usability scores are not declining over time.
Cloud-based
Unlike traditional on-premise EHR solutions, cloud-based EHR systems offer a variety of benefits. These systems are flexible, scalable, and cost-effective. They store patient health records in the cloud, where security and privacy are guaranteed. These systems offer data mining capabilities that let administrators evaluate work processes and identify patient data. Many of these web-native solutions are designed with input from clinical providers, facility management teams, and other healthcare professionals. They provide a higher level of customization and better match the reasons that providers choose them.
Physician-hosted
When comparing the pros and cons of physician-hosted EHR systems, it's important to remember that a hosted system will be faster and more reliable than an unhosted system. This is because the hosting company will be your practice's sole source of data. Therefore, they will not be responsible for any problems arising from the data on their servers. Depending on the features you need, physician-hosted systems can be an excellent option for your practice.
