According to Walker, by the year 2020, businesses will value their overall customer experience more than the price of a product when making a purchasing decision. Effectively, this means that business to business sales, which were once largely decided by costs and bidding, will soon be decided by which product can best guarantee mutual success. This is no different in the healthcare industry. In fact, hospitals are busier than ever, which means that healthcare providers need to employ the best possible technology –with little regard for price– in order to future-proof operations and ensure success. This is particularly true when it comes to choosing an EHR service.

The Importance of (the Right) EHR Service

The benefits of using an EHR service in the healthcare industry are numerous and important. A well-developed EHR service can provide several advantages in the clinical setting, resulting in safer, more legible health records, more secure record storage, real-time and streamlined record-keeping, and overall cost-reduction with the elimination of paper records. All in all, using an EHR service is becoming increasingly necessary for healthcare providers, even if only considered from a quality-of-life standpoint. However, while using an EHR service is important in a clinical setting, it is equally important to choose the right service based on several important factors.

Factors to Consider When Choosing an EHR Service

Ease of Operation:

The most difficult part of adopting new software, especially in a business setting, is the learning curve associated with the software. If a product’s ease of operation isn’t where it needs to be then individuals may have to be retrained and progress can be sluggish. Because of this, it is important to consider ease of operation when purchasing an EHR service.

Reliability:

Computers and software break down occasionally; it’s unavoidable. However, especially in the healthcare industry, it is important for software and tech to be as reliable as possible. Reliable software will keep patients healthier and employees less stressed, so it is important to consider.

Comprehensiveness:

It is also important for an EHR service to be fully-fleshed out, with a comprehensive host of features. The more utility an EHR offers, the more use healthcare providers can get out of it. Not only that, but comprehensive features will go much further in future-proofing operations, and can leave room to grow within the confines of the service.

Integration:

Growing pains are inevitable in any business, especially where new software is involved. However, new services should integrate as painlessly as possible. By considering integration, healthcare providers are taking conscious steps towards up-scaling operations, while maintaining a healthy ecosystem within the workplace.

Ownership of Records:

Another important factor to consider is the ownership of health records when using an EHR service. It is important to choose a trustworthy service that will not terminate access to records. Making sure that the practicing clinic can protect their records is of paramount importance, and should not be taken lightly.

Contractual Obligations:

Fulfilling obligations is at the core of any successful (legitimate) business model. As such it is important to make sure that not only do all parties uphold their ends of contractual obligations, but also that all parties are agreeing to fair, mutually beneficial terms. This is especially important in the healthcare industry, where the health of patients is at stake.

MedEZ: Comprehensive EHR

MedEZ is a full-suite, comprehensive EHR service. The service is complete with all of the features and considerations listed above. MedEZ also includes several other advantages to healthcare providers looking to upgrade their EHR service or adopt a new one entirely, such as full billing management, comprehensive patient portals, and a complete pharmaceutical module, among others. In short, choosing an EHR service is important, but can be complicated. However, MedEZ’s comprehensive, customizable service could be just what healthcare providers need to improve their own service.