Make EHR Vendor Selection Easier with These 50 Questions

Choosing a new EMR/PM solution is a huge decision. Finding the right fit can be a big determinant of your future success. To help make EHR vendor selection easier, use this list of 50 questions during the discovery phase of your search.

Have a deep and honest discussion—and ask the right questions (like the ones on this list) to choose a partner that knows how you practice, understands your workflow, and can provide tools and services to move your business in the right direction.

These questions also serve a bigger purpose. They will help you determine if prospective providers will be a real partner—working alongside you to reach your goals.

Ask about the company.

01. How long have you been in business?

02. What are the goals of your organization?

03. What type of clinics make up the majority of your business?

04. What percent of your partners are urgent care clinics?

05. Who are your biggest clients?

06. What’s your history with regulatory agencies?

07. Have you made any significant changes to the size of your workforce in the last five years?

08. How active and responsive are your product development team and customer support team?

09. What products and services, other than EMR/PM, can you offer my clinic?

10. How do you work with us on operational efficiencies?

11. How do you keep my electronic messages and all my other data secure?

12. Who owns the data in the system?

13. What sets you apart from other EMR vendors?

14. What’s coming next from your company?

15. Why should I choose your company?

Ask about the software.

16. Is your EMR integrated or module-based?

17. Is it compatible with my current hardware?

18. Does your soft­ware work well on multiple mobile devices?

19. What specialties does your so­ftware support?

20. Does your EMR improve patient engagement?

21. Have you had success with external integrations?

22. Does your so­ftware include online reservations?

23. How does your soft­ware help patient flow?

24. Can I get everything I see on the demo?

25. Do you have different so­ftware options for different size businesses?

26. How oft­en do you update your soft­ware?

27. Is it updated automatically? Or do I have to manually make the update?

28. How much do you charge for updates?

29. What is your track record for system uptime?

30. What kind of standard reports are available?

31. Can I get performance metrics?

32. How will this so­ftware solution improve my operations?

Ask about implementation and migration.

33. Aft­er signing a contract, what’s the average time before implementation?

34. What is the time-frame for implementation?

35. What kind of training do you provide before implementation?

36. Will someone come to our site for the initial implementation?

37. Will we have a dedicated implementation representative throughout the process?

38. How do you follow up a­fter the initial implementation?

39. Do you differentiate implementation based on a clinic’s needs?

40. Do you migrate my data into the new EMR?

41. How much does data migration cost?

Ask about training and support.

42. What kind of training do you provide?

43. What does training cost?

44. How does tech support work?

45. What’s your average support request response time?

46. What is the average time to resolve a support request?

47. Do you have an active online users’ community?

48. Do you outsource support?

49. Where is your customer support team based?

50. How much does tech support cost?

Use this list as a guide and think about additional questions that can help you narrow down the companies on your shortlist. The right ­fit is essential when choosing a new EMR and technology partner, but it’s just a beginning.

EHR vendor selection is a big decision. Get the tools that help make it easier.