pediatric practice

Continued from Part 1 of 2, listed below are some additional questions to consider when selecting a Pediatric EHR.

• Can broadcasting (via e-mail/voice) be done easily with the EHR System?

Pediatric groups have many needs for sending our broad cast messages. Examples include: announcement of a flu/H1N1 clinic, change in hours (e.g. summer hours), announcing a new provider. There should be a field for the staff to collect e-mail so that an e-mail announcement can be sent to all families whom provided an e-mail address. Does the system have the capability to send out the e-mail for no cost to the practice or does the list need to be loaded into another system/company that adds cost to the practice? For voice broadcasts, the practice should be able to download a list of the primary phone number and export to provide voice broad cast messaging. A direct link only to one vendor is usually not the best financial interest to the practice. For example, a cloud based voice broadcast company called ifbyphone has some very inexpensive options for voice broadcast; they have no contracts, a small monthly fee that can be cancelled at any time.

• Does the system have a balance in quality between the EHR and practice management/billing?

This is important. Some systems built an EHR because they want to maintain their practice management clients. If this is the case, how easy is the EHR to use? What is the cost? Does the system have complete integration? Others built an EHR with minimal knowledge of practice management and billing. There is extra cost and work for transitioning data between two systems. This can occur in a practice when the practice management do not want to change and ‘force’ the EHR on the providers or the other way around – the providers find an EHR they like to chart with but the system is ‘weak’ on practice management. A good indicator of this lack of balance is on a company’s web site. When you see that there are many links/alliances with EHR Systems, they probably have a very weak EHR but a solid background in practice management. When you see an alliance with a practice management company (e.g. Athena Health, Physicians Computer Company), usually a good indicator that they have weak practice management system.

What are the total costs?

It is extremely important to compare total cost. When evaluating a system built on client server technology, make sure to obtain cost for maintaining the server and backup. Servers have a life span of a number of years (some use 4-6 years). Evaluate current costs, maintenance, reoccurring costs, set-up costs. The system adopted should reduce total costs for the practice.

• How up to date is the company and their systems?

Some companies have been around for years and unfortunately have not changed their technology for years. Being locked into Microsoft technology was an asset in the 1990s while today, I believe, it is a liability. When the internet was young, client server was the most appropriate choice. There are many draw backs with maintaining a server – software that needs to be updated on each server (this is how things go out of date), cost to maintain the server, time spent on the server, need for VPN when there are multiple offices. Using a system build on “cloud computing” means your practice usually has an IT team with degrees and experience in Systems and Engineering and/or Computer Science maintaining backups, data and software means that the office only needs to maintain a connection to the internet. I use the word ‘usually’ because one of our competitors has a CIO without a Computer Science Degree or an Engineering or Systems Engineering Degree (unsure if he ever graduated from College). If a practice uses a system built on cloud computing, the practice can use low-cost IT support like “The geek squad” to maintain the internet connection as well as computer set-up. Does the technology easily allow a physician to pull up charts on the iPad, mobile phones? It is either very difficult or can’t be done for an EHR system built on ‘old technology’ to be usable across these different platforms. Other costs to consider: training, e-prescriptions, interfaces with Lab companies, reporting/practice management, cost to customize. Note: our CIO has 8 years of programming experience and a degree in Computer Science.

• Is the product designed specifically for Pediatrics?

Pediatricians have special needs not found in other specialties. Kids are not small adults. In a Pediatric patient, there is a higher utilization/visit amount by the younger patients than the older patients. An EHR sales person will state that ‘we have a large amount of Pediatricians’ using our system. This does not mean the product is designed and easy to use for Pediatrics (might just mean that the company has a strong sales force). For example, a practice needs to verify the system has coding linked into the template for each of the well visits type. Is there an integrated vaccine management system as well scheduling logic based on Pediatrics? Does the organization understand “Denver Development” and “Bright Futures” and how to incorporate these approaches into their system?

• How easy is the system to use and can we customize?

Many EHR systems are set-up with small boxes with many commands to learn. Some systems appear to be “Excel-like” spreadsheets with difficult operational interfaces. These systems might have been designed an older technology for a number of reasons including: the cost is too high for the organization to start over, the CIO/staff does not have the skills in the new technology, the technology team is not well integrated with what the user needs. If you see the opening scene for the 2010 Wall Street Movie, Michael Douglass is given back his large phone from the 1980s that no one uses today. You would not by a cell phone made in the 1980s or 1990s, why would you purchase an EHR system built on the technology of the past? The system should be easy to learn. A demonstration of the system is a must. Ask a practice that adopted an EHR system you are interested in how the physician, nurse/MA, front desk like the system. Recommend you either call a physician partner about the system or if possible, spent a ½ day at a practice.

• Does the system receive lab results as data elements directly into the E.H.R.?

Some of the systems advertise that they have a method to record lab results in the EHR. There is a free EHR known as “Practice Fusion” which shows the EHR can accept a PDF file. This does not meet the requirements for meaningful use per the Health and Human Services Requirements. The real question to ask them is do they have an HL-7 interface with the ability to receive lab results directly into the EHR. If they can answer yes and show you an example in the demonstration, they have the ‘right’ lab interface.

• Does the system have direct connection to Surescripts for both sending electronic prescriptions as well as receiving messages on formulary status?

All electronic prescriptions are routed to the pharmacy via an organization established by the large Pharmacy Benefit Managers known as Surescripts. Surescripts will allow EHR/E-prescribing vendors to link directly to their system. To do this, a vendor needs to be able to build all the systems to appropriate route the prescription as well as receive refills. Surescripts can send formulary status of patients as well. Some organizations choose to not invest the resources (they might not have capable enough programmers or enough programmers) and time to build the formulary link. A ‘short-cut’ is for a vendor to use an e-prescribing vendor to help them so that the when a physician wants to receive a formulary message the message/request is sent from the EHR vendor (e.g. Dr. first). There are two ways to identify if a vendor does this, ask them and look on their web site to see if there are partnerships with Dr. First or similar organization.

For further questions to ask, please read article “What are some questions I should ask when looking for a Pediatric Electronic Health Record (Part 2 of 2)?”