In our previous article, 2019 Market Share: Amublatory EHR Vendors, we discussed the top vendors for EHR and also some tips to ensure a successful EHR implementation. Now what are some challenges EHR implementations face?
- Cost
- One of the main concerns of EHR implementation is the cost that comes with it. According to Health Affairs, “For an average five-physician practice, implementation cost an estimated $162,000, with $85,500 in maintenance expenses during the first year.” Most hospitals need to make sure to plan and budget wisely so that they can follow through with the implementation.
- Staff Resistance
- For a successful implementation, the hospital needs to make sure to communicate with the whole staff to ensure they know what is going on. Some employees are left in the dark about the current technological advances and some health professionals are close minded to change.
- Training
- To help with staff resistance, training is needed. The staff will be able to become more familiar and welcoming with the change if they receive the correct thorough training.
- Usability Issues
- Every department in a hospital is different and EHR systems need to adapt for that. If it doesn’t fit in with the health professional’s workflow, they will less likely want to use it. The design should be easing the professionals work, not creating more problems.
- Data Privacy
- Security is a huge issue in the healthcare IT world. Stakeholders want to make sure that personal health data is secure, and that the new system will not be prone to cyber-attacks.
- Data Migration
- There needs to be a set protocol when doing the EHR transition. Health professionals will be used to paper and want to continue doing things their way throwing the EHR implementation out the window. To make sure people conform to the digitalize way, there needs to be training so that people will not have to do double the work.
- Technical Resource Limitation
- Smaller hospitals will face this problem since they have a small staff. The hospital will most likely not have an in-house technical team to help them troubleshoot the problems with the EHR system.
- Interoperability
- One of the main purposes of EHR systems is to be able give health professionals easier access to information across different systems and multiple providers. This will help professionals to be able to treat patient’s better no matter where they are.
- Proper Training Shortcomings
- Implementing an EHR system is not like buying a new TV. You cannot just plug it in and turn it on with the remote. It takes a significant amount of time and requires detailed planning. The whole facility needs to be committed to the change.
- Lack of Vendor-Provider
- An IT vendors work is not over once the implementation is over. To ensure a successful implementation, communication is key before, during and after the process. The IT vendor should still be able to help detail/fix the system to be fit with the hospital system.
This article was created by Stephanie Sok, Business Researcher, Global Healthcare IT, Inc. with assistance from the following base line articles: For more on each please click on the link.
Stephanie can be reached on ssok@globalhit.com.
