How long does it take? What is expected of my staff during implementation? What is expected of me? Will I miss clinic? How many days off do I need to schedule? When will I be up to speed?
These are questions that physicians ask when getting into the EMR arena. Unfortunately, there is not always an answer to these most pertinent questions. The answers to your questions are dependent upon the office and the EMR company that was selected. Most implementation timelines are from 3-6 months.
The implementation plan from the EMR company usually involves a three fold approach. This is only applys for a stand alone EMR program and does not include the setting up of the practice management and billing software. A prerequisite to even beginning this training is ensuring that the EMR program has an interface built for your billing/practice managment software. This can be done through a third party like X-Link or through a direct interface which requires programming on the part of the Practice management and EMR company. It is best to ensure that all of this is set up prior to signing a contract with the EMR company if possible.
1. Setting up the databases and user identification information. This typically takes 4-6 weeks. They want to verify during this time period that you have installed the program correctly on your client server. Some EMR companies will take care of this but larger offices usually handle this. If the EMR company is hosting it, you have to give them time to set everything up on their end. This time peri0d can vary based on the EMR company but usually takes a minimum of 4 weeks.
2. The next part involves the actual training of staff. This is often done separately from the provider training and covers the training of the nursing staff and everyone who will be involved in the data entry side.
3. The last part of the training involves the training of the providers and physicians. This is sometimes difficult to schedule because the providers are always busy seeing patients. The EMR companies typically want at least 5 days of uninterupted days with 2-3 days during the week with a light patient load. Some EMR companies allow the practice to schedule this on the weekend but it will cost extra and you will probably have overtime with your staff.
One of the most frustrating things regarding the implementation of an EMR solution has to be the time frame required to select and implement the solution properly. It seems as though you pay all of this money just to sit and wait while things are implemented. The process of implementation takes months at a minimum and for larger facilities can take years. There are hospitals that purchased their EMR solution three years ago and are still implementing the software.
For physician offices, the problem is there but not quite as bad. Still though, you pay 30k for a great emr product that you spent months deciding on, just to find that you now have to wait 60-120 days just to get the program installed. Things never move at the pace you expect and you have to set your expectations so you do not get frustrated with the process. You want to walk well before you run and this means that you need to pace yourself during implementation. Just expect 90-120 days going into it to help manage your expectations. For some programs, you can wait 6 months before the software is fully implemented regardless of the size of your practice.
For questions related to implementation or selection, email us at EMR@freeEMRsolution.com