Did you know that the EHR market is growing at 6.7% CAGR? Why is that? It’s because the second you implement EHR in your practice, you now have an advantage over those who don’t have one.
Let’s take a look at some of the EHR implementation secrets we have learned over the years so that you can get your competitive advantage in place as quickly and as frictionlessly as possible.
What Is EHR Implementation?
Before we delve into the particulars, it’s important to define our terms and be 100% clear on what we’re talking about.
You may have heard the terms EHR and EMR used somewhat interchangeably. It’s important to know that they are not the same thing and there are important distinctions between the two.
EHR vs EMR: A Key Difference
EHR (Electronic Health Record)
Typical EHR software features include medical and billing information collected from physicians, hospitals, laboratories, imaging facilities, and other healthcare providers.
EMR (Electronic Medical Records)
This refers to digital versions of patient charts, including details such as financial information, health data, and records of vaccinations, medications, and allergies.
So, to be clear, this blog will be discussing Electronic Health Record Implementation,
Why EHR Implementation Matters for Your Practice
As we said in the introduction, your EHR is your competitive advantage and should become your overall practice management software. Yes, you will run into some EHR implementation challenges in the early stages. But done properly, it should have a positive business impact on nearly every aspect of your practice.
This includes:
- Improved patient outcomes
- Flawless regulatory compliance (HIPAA, MACRA/MIPS)
- Reduced paperwork and no double-entry
- Simplified revenue cycle management
When you’re looking at the cost of EHR implementation from a would-be vendor, don’t ask yourself how much this software will cost. Ask where it will save you time and money.
For example, Cerbo has helped our customers achieve:
- 50% reduction in patient admin time
- 45% reduction in ordering prescriptions & supplements
- 75% reduction in patient inquiries
How to Implement an EHR System: Step-by-Step
No two practices are the same. However, we have found that the best EHR implementation results come from some combination of these steps.
Step 1: Assess Your Practice’s Needs
The first step in your EHR implementation plan is to find the pain points within your organization. Where are the workflow inefficiencies that you know are costing you money?
We recommend speaking with every member of your staff to understand where they might be struggling and what they would like to see from this tool. From there, you can create a sort of EHR implementation checklist of must-haves and nice-to-haves.
Step 2: Build Your Implementation Team
How you go about creating a leadership team for a successful EHR will depend on your organization’s size.
If it is just you and another physician, there’s no need to assign a project lead.
However, in a larger organization, somebody should own this. They don’t need an IT background. They just need a strong project management skill set to become your clinical champion.
Step 3: Set a Budget and Timeline
There is no one-size-fits-all number for the cost of EHR implementation.
There are far too many factors involved to even give you a realistic budget range. You probably won’t know until you have met with several potential vendors and asked them to provide a full EHR implementation cost breakdown.
At the same time, it’s important to consider how long it is going to take to roll this out. If your EHR implementation timeline stretches over a year or two, that makes things more expensive when you factor in the overlap of double-entry between two systems and potential errors and downtime.
Step 4: Research and Select an EHR Vendor
Healthcare software implementation is a higher-stakes game than the average SaaS purchase. The magin of error is smaller for an EHR for cash-based practices, and this will have a direct impact on the level of patient care you offer.
You’re going to want to take a deep dive into all of your potential vendors’ websites, but don’t forget to take a look at their reviews off-page. Unhappy customers will give you an unfiltered account of any software shortfalls. They will tell you if this is not a great integrative medicine EHR or something that wasn’t built for your sector.
Once you have read enough webpages in case studies about their specialty fit, their usability, their customer support, and the other platforms they integrate with, it’s time to set up an EHR software implementation demo.
Step 5: Plan Data Migration
Contracts have been signed, and it’s time to truly begin the EHR implementation process.
One of the first and most important conversations is how data migration will be handled, as you move from your previous legacy system, which could be a series of spreadsheets or even paper.
This is easily one of the most important EHR implementation steps and can make or break the entire process. This is one of the areas where Cerbo truly stands above its competition.
“The overall implementation experience was very positive,” says Patrick Dermody, General Manager, Florida Center for Hormones and Wellness.
“The support team is excellent, and Cerbo took care of ensuring the data was clean and that there were no mistakes.”
Step 6: Configure and Customize the System
Now it’s time to get into the technical minutiae of the EHR development. You need to customize the product for your template, workflows, user rules, and integrations.
The best companies will have EHR implementation strategies already in place to help guide you through this.
Step 7: Train Your Staff
Implementing an EHR the right way requires a lot more than just training handouts and videos. You need interactive training sessions with role-based training.
EHR training and ongoing training are a journey and not a destination. Your provider needs to be accessible at every step.
Step 8: Go Live (and Monitor)
Successful EHR implementation doesn’t look the same in every practice. Some go with a phased approach, implementing the tool in a deliberate way. Others prefer a big-bang rollout, wiping the slate clean and starting 100% with the new EHR tool on a given day—no overlap and no looking back. Consider which of these approaches would work best for your staff and your workflows.
Don’t forget about your patients! Remember, implementing a new EHR system means training your customers on how to use it.
“I wanted an EHR which could integrate everything we do in a traditional family medicine practice that has a focus on integrated medicine,” said Dr. Kristann Heinz, MD, RD from Red Hill Medical + Wellness.
“Onboarding patients needed to be easy for them to navigate as well. Cerbo has the patient portal with onboarding medical documents from HIPAA to various medical histories.”
If you want to know what it can do for you, you start right now by clicking here to request a demo / try Cerbo.
Step 9: Optimize and Iterate
The companies that continuously learn and measure their success along the way are the ones that will get the most from their staff and their new tool.
Not all of these steps will apply to your practice, and you may add a few of your own. But they do give you a solid base of EHR implementation best practices.
Common EHR Implementation Challenges (and How to Overcome Them)
Even if you have guidance from your provider, some of the challenges of EHR implementation are pretty much universal.
Some of them may include:
Staff Resistance
Ever since COVID, the North American workforce has been suffering from tool fatigue. We are very reticent of any new would-be solution, because we have baked-in doubts that this will actually help us.
When planning your EHR training strategies and messaging, focus on the benefits, not the features. It’s one thing to tell them about the new charting features; it’s another to tell them how much more time they can spend with patients because of it.
Data Migration Issues
Having incomplete or inaccurate data won’t just stunt your ability to make more informed decisions. It can also create clinical risks for your patients!
The solution is to work with an experienced company that can run tests, migrations, validate the sample charts, and assign clear accountability.
Workflow Disruption
This is one of the most common barriers to EHR implementation, and one of the most common hesitations to even consider a new EHR.
A lot of decision makers are scared of the downtime in the learning curve. They don’t want to see a productivity dip as the staff gets to know the new EHR.
The simplest solution is to tether your expectations and adjust schedules during these transitional months. Expect mistakes, and normalize learning.
Cost Overruns
A lot of companies will underestimate the cost of training and customizing their solution. At the same time, many will assume that the most expensive solution is often the best. However, that is not always the case.
“We went with a major vendor everyone recommended. Six months in and provider satisfaction scores are lower than before. They say the templates are too rigid and they’re spending more time clicking than they did with our old system,” said one frustrated Reddit user.
“Brought concerns back to the vendor and they want another $50K for customization work. Leadership is asking me how we spent this much money to make things worse, unbelievable!”
Don’t always go with the biggest company and expect the most value. It’s also smart to always build continuity funds into your EHR implementation cost breakdown and negotiate your vendor contracts deliberately.
EHR Implementation Timeline: What to Expect
How long does it take to implement an EHR system? If there were a single definitive answer for that, there would be a single definitive tool for every practice to use. And that’s not the case.
Realistically speaking, you can expect a timeline of between 3 and 12 months, depending on your practice size and specialty.
Your vendor can help frame experience expectations, if you ask them about their experiences working with practises of comparable size, and in similar markets.
EHR Implementation FAQs
How long does it take to implement an EHR system?
Again, this is an impossibly difficult question to ask. It may take any given practice between 3 and 12 months. A smaller direct primary care EHR would have shorter migration times, whereas larger facilities may take a year or more.
How Much Does EHR Implementation Cost?
This is another very complex question, with a lot of variables involved. You have to look at your vendors, baseline pricing, then factor in customization, training, and data migration.
They should be able to provide you with a detailed cost breakdown for every stage and milestone. Ideally, with no surprises along the way.
What is the EHR Implementation Process?
As we outlined above, no two practises are the same, and no single roadmap will get everyone where they need to be. However, the best framework we can provide is the following:
- Step 1: Assess Your Practice Needs
- Step 2: Build Your Implementation Team
- Step 3: Set a Budget and Timeline
- Step 4: Research and Select an EHR Vendor
- Step 5: Plan Data Migration
- Step 6: Configure and Customize the System
- Step 7: Train Your Staff
- Step 8: Go Live (and Monitor)
- Step 9: Optimize and Iterate
What should be included in an EHR implementation plan?
Your EHR implementation plan should outline:
- Goals and KPIs
- Budget and timeline
- Team roles
- Data migration strategy
- Training schedule
- Go-live support plan
- Post-launch evaluation process
How Cerbo Simplifies EHR Implementation
We pride ourselves on offering the industry’s best EHR solution, and we know that starts with offering the best possible onboarding process. We’re not looking to just be a vendor that sells you a product. We want to be a partner that helps you at every step of your growth.
“Cerbo has worked very well for me and my patients… My direct primary care physician who sees me and my family also uses Cerbo. It is very easy to use from a patient perspective. In addition, I mentor other DPC physicians and also run a Facebook group for DPC Pediatricians. I have recommended Cerbo to many doctors who are beginning their DPC journey.” – Dr. Andrea Wadley from 127 Pediatrics.
