The 8-Step Checklist to Consider Before Implementing EHR

The EHR (Electronic Health Records) system is a crucial health IT system that has become an integral part of healthcare practice. By 2021, almost 88% of U.S. office-based physicians had adopted some form of electronic health record (EHR), with nearly 78% utilizing a certified EHR.

Most of the healthcare practices feel daunting to implement EHR as it involves many technical challenges.

This blog post shares the 8-step checklist healthcare professionals need to consider before implementing EHR for healthcare practice.

Definition of EHR Implementation

Healthcare providers probably have no idea of what EHR implementation is. It is a process of thorough planning and execution of Implementing EHR (a health IT system that helps to store and manage sensitive health data) into healthcare practice’s existing workflow.

Everyone in the healthcare organization will be impacted by the deployment of an EHR system, including clinicians, administrative workers, and patients.

What is the Timeline for Implementing EHR Systems?

Most of the healthcare practice have been curious to know the time of implementing an EHR system. To answer in short, it’ll take around 6 months to one year. It can vary from various factors such as:

• Size and complexity: For small clinics, EHR Implementation is likely to be faster implementation than larger organizations’ networks with multiple locations.
• Scope of the EHR system: Are you implementing a basic system or one with a lot of features and functionalities? More features generally mean a longer implementation time.
• Level of planning and preparation: The more organized you are upfront, the smoother and faster the implementation will be.
• Data migration complexity: If you have a lot of paper records or a complex existing electronic system, migrating your data to the new EHR will take longer.

Considering all these factors, you can extract a solid estimation of EHR implementation.

Related: How to Streamline Your Practice with EHR Workflow Optimization

The 8-Step Checklist for EHR Implementation

Before going through the checklist, it is important to know the steps involved in the EHR implementation for healthcare practice.

• Gathering team members: Healthcare practice should gather team members who are all will be involved in selecting the EHR.
• Requirements: Gathering all the requirements, from features to functionalities that are needed for practice in an EHR.
• Consider EHR implementation cost and define a budget: Consider all the costs of implementing EHR, from software, hardware, training, and data migration.
• Schedule your EHR implementation: This involves setting up a timeline for each step of the process.
• Selecting EHR software: Research and compare different EHR systems to find the one that meets your practice requirements, needs, and budget.
• Clean and transfer your existing medical data: Ensure that your patient data is accurate and transferable to the new EHR system.
• Provide staff with EHR training: Train your staff on how to use the EHR system effectively.
• Testing the EHR system: Test the EHR system thoroughly before going live to identify and fix any issues.
• Go live with the EHR system: Launch the new EHR system and begin using it for patient care.
• Monitor adoption and user engagement: Track how staff members are utilizing the EHR system and address any challenges encountered.
• Continuously optimize and improve: Regularly evaluate your EHR system and make adjustments to improve workflow efficiency.

Even though your practice isn’t currently prepared to succeed in these areas, the implementation strategy will use this 8-step checklist covering every EHR adoption stage to change that.

Related: The 10-Point Checklist for Selecting a Behavioral Health EHR

1. Develop Your EHR Implementation Plan

Thorough planning is more important in implementing an EHR system successfully. Healthcare practices should create a plan of implementation by creating an outline of physicians, practice managers, and IT staff members, patients as well.

• Form an implementation committee with members from key stakeholder groups.
• Estimate an implementation cost and establish the overall budget for EHR.
• Plan an implementation timeline, after finalizing the EHR implementation plan.
• Migrate patient data and practice data.
• Develop comprehensive user training.
• Conduct EHR testing, including a trial run in a live practice setting.
• Clearly outline go-live activities.
• Identify critical success factors and devise evaluation strategies.

The initial stage of EHR implementation is detailed planning which needs to be in maximum efficiency. This is what ensures that the EHR implementation process is going smoothly and the right way.

2. Assemble Your EHR Implementation Team

EHR Implementation requires expert knowledge. So, the practice should be gathered for executing each of the processes on schedule and within budget. The following committee members can be sourced from the key stakeholder groups:

• Project Manager: Ensuring the project is staying on track within budget and timeline.
• IT Lead: Responsible for the technical aspects of the implementation, such as hardware, software, and network infrastructure.
• QA test engineer: For system testing and performance.
• Physician advocate: A physician who advocates for the EHR system and represents the need for other clinicians.
• Nurse advocate: A nurse who advocates for the EHR system and represents the needs of other nurses.
• Billing advocate: A medical biller who advocates for the EHR system and represents the needs of other medical billers.
• EHR trainer: Train staff members on how to use the EHR system effectively.
• Data migration specialists: Migrate patient data from the old system to the New EHR system.
• Change management specialists: Develop and implement a plan to help staff adjust to the new EHR system

The successful implementation of EHR within budget and timeline with good quality outcomes depends on the team members.

3. Estimate EHR Implementation Costs and Set a Budget

Estimating the exact Cost of EHR implementation and setting up a budget is important. The price of EHR Implementation can vary based on various factors. However, based on the stats, the EHR Implementation cost can be estimated at around $15,000 to $70,000.

Here are the several factors to consider for estimating the price of EHR implementation:

• Hardware and software upgrades
• Practice staff overtime and temporary staff.
• Productivity loss
• Customization consultancy from EHR vendor
• Vendor training fees
• Consultancy costs
• Data backups and storage

4. Plan Your EHR Implementation Timeline

Scheduling the EHR implementation timeline is the first thing the healthcare practice should work on. When you think about what affects a schedule, the issue with such a strategy becomes evident:

1. The Scope of the Project
2. Project Team
3. The budget for the project

However, you have defined all the above three in this EHR implementation plan already. So, how long does the EHR Implementation take? It’ll take around 6 months to 1 year to fully implement.

5. Transfer Patient and Practice Data

Data migration from legacy EHR to New EHR system process is crucial and requires maximum accuracy and completeness. The EHR data transfer process includes:

• Converting from traditional paper records to EHR data
• Cleaning and verifying data
• Setting up the EHR database
• Mapping legacy data to new database fields
• Transferring data to the new system
• Testing and verifying legacy data
• Testing and verifying new data entries

6. EHR Training Program for Staff Members

Staff members should know how to use the EHR system effectively to increase productivity. Healthcare practices should consider implementing a comprehensive EHR training program for staff members. The EHR training program should include: 

• Super-users serving as system and program advocates
• Establishing clear communication channels with the vendor support teams
• Providing role-based training to ensure relevance
• Creating feedback loops to maintain user dialogue with project management

7. Outline Go-Live Procedures

After planning all the things, it is time to go live with the EHR system in the healthcare practice. The roadmap for going live with the EHR system typically includes:

• Procedures for system testing (before and after implementation)
• Guidelines for patient communication (including notifications about expected downtime)
• Staff scheduling plans (including provisions for overtime or temporary staff)
• Adjustments to appointment scheduling
• Processes for reporting on system and project performance (refer to step 8)
• Internal practice communications (e.g., notices on bulletin boards)
• Checks for network speed and reliability
• Data backup process

8. Identify Key Success Metrics and Evaluation Methods

After successfully implementing the EHR system, it is crucial to evaluate the EHR implementation like ROI calculation, survey patient satisfaction, and more.

This approach can be done in various ways, depending on the project goals:

• Calculate ROI to assess profitability.
• Track patient throughput to measure efficiency.
• Survey patients to evaluate their satisfaction and the quality of care.
• Survey physicians to gauge user adoption and the effectiveness of training.
• Analyze data error rates to assess the quality and accuracy of data input.

Vozo Cloud EHR for your Practice

From managing and organizing patient health records digitally to reducing medical errors, it significantly empowers providers to improve healthcare quality. 

If you are searching for the best EHR system for your healthcare practice, Vozo EHR can be your go-to choice. Our comprehensive EHR solution lets you focus more on patient care while carrying all the burdens and simplifying it.

• Vozo Cloud EHR’s cost-effective cloud subscription benefits all levels of practice.
• Our feature-rich EHR helps you rectify mistakes efficiently and speed up the process.
• Vozo Specialty EHR resonates with specialty practice needs and requirements.
• Our expert technical team got you covered 24/7 if any needs arise.
• Our EHR System continues to scale as your healthcare practice grows to improve the user experience.

The Vozo Customized EHR solution benefits your healthcare practice by:

• Streamlining the administrative process
• Improving workflow efficiency
• Reducing proneness to errors
• Manages all the patient’s records in one place
• Offers greater efficiency and cost-savings across the board.

Our specialty-specific tools like scheduling, patient portals, lab integration, cloud hosting, and more meet the specific needs and requirements of your healthcare practice.

“Embrace Vozo EHR to reduce your burdens and enhance patient care”