6 Considerations for Healthcare Data Migration Before Replacing an EHR
From customization requirements to organizational growth, medical practices and healthcare organizations are poised for some major changes in relation to EHR systems in the next few years. Whether upgrading a current system or switching entirely to a new system, features like cloud-based mobile solutions, compliance tracking, and access to data insights have paved the way for greater expectations amongst healthcare professionals throughout the nation.
In many scenarios, the existing system simply cannot handle the records capacity anymore. As products age, things like standard maintenance, system security, and even basic functionality begin to deteriorate, leaving healthcare organizations and medical practices struggling to maintain an adequate level of quality patient care.
Today, we discuss the importance of thinking through vendor options and practice requirements before jumping into a new EHR system. Avoiding disruptions to the office’s workflow is imperative, which means the exercise of careful EHR deliberation is critical.
Don’t Switch EHRs Without Considering These Items
The tools and features that come standard in today’s EHR systems are vastly different than those released as little as 5 years ago. As such, it is important that medical practices and healthcare organizations take into account what their current uses are and how implementing new features may benefit both the business and the quality of patient care.
What is your patient engagement like? Are you utilizing secure messaging to communicate with patients? How is the data provided by your current EHR system guiding decision-making for the business? These are just a few of the questions that you should be asking to begin the process of choosing a new EHR system.
The following are some of the most essential factors that you should consider in healthcare data migration before replacing your EHR:
- Thorough assessment of the vendor and their track record of system updates
- Training necessary for ease of use of the new EHR system
- Risks of not switching EHR systems
- User interface and customization options of the new system
- Costs associated with switching, ensuring that long-term costs (not just the initial investment) are accounted for in budgeting
- Finding the best company to handle the actual data migration
Migrating data from one EHR system to another is an intricate, complex process. Without the right data migration partner, the healthcare organization or medical practice runs the risk of losing patient data and, more importantly, the risk of compromising the quality of patient care.
For far too many years EHR systems created more problems for physicians than they actually solved. While there are much better vendors available today, the reality is that the same issues still exist without vetting the vendor properly and identifying the critical considerations to your business. With a lack of standardization in EHR database design, taking into account what will work for your particular medical practice or healthcare organization is imperative.
At MDH Insight, we take pride in being your trusted partner for EHR data conversions. In fact, our mission is to take the pain out of EHR data conversion so that you can continue to deliver the highest quality of care to your patients.
Are you ready to take the next step in switching to a new EHR system? Contact us today for a Free Assessment!