A full 30 percent of “new” EHR purchases are actually replacements, according to a 2013 Black Book Rankings survey.  If your organization has decided to make the switch to another vendor, change management can help you successfully transition while minimizing the risk of another failure.

With a push for electronic healthcare records from many agencies--as well as vendor promises for efficiency and increased cash flow--many providers now find themselves married to EHR systems that aren't doing everything the provider needs or wants. Switching EHRs is always an option, but before you divorce your current system, it is important to ask yourself some questions to avoid common mistakes when replacing an EHR.

The decision is made; it’s time to replace the EHR system, but how difficult will the transition be and what are the issues should you be aware of? EHR Intelligence states that implementing a replacement system can actually be much more complex than just the initial installation. Why? Because providers have a better understanding of what they want, so they create a laundry list of needs that didn’t exist the first time around.

EHR Implementation Challenges in Small Practices

One mistake many offices make when converting files to electronic health records is to attempt to do everything at once. If your medical office isn't ready for a full-scale EHR implementation, a push to complete the process on a tight deadline overwhelms and burns out staff. Converting records at a pace that isn't right for your office—or doing so before you're ready or have the right resources in place—can also corrupt your patient care processes, resulting in treatment mistakes or poor patient experience. Here's a look at how to face those, and other, EHR challenges in a small or mid-sized medical office.

EHR Implementation

The hunt for a right-fit EHR system is a difficult one, with many health care providers hitting multiple snags after they have implemented their first EHR. Ideally, a provider's EHR will be secure, easy to use and cost effective. Unfortunately, many of today's EHRs lack these basic requirements. This is unfortunate, for the wrong EHR system can easily pose significant setbacks in day-to-day medical operations. There are all kinds of mishaps that may convince a provider to begin the search for a new EHR, but the following are a few of the most common: