The installation process is a joint effort by your IT department/consultant and the vendor. With that being said it is crucial that there is open communication between the vendor and the IT reps. If you don’t yet have an IT consultant ask your colleagues in the area who they use and what their experience has been with them.
Tip: Involve the IT representatives during the installation of the EMR so they may be able to properly maintain the system.
When it comes to scheduling the installation pick a time over a weekend or when the office is closed for the necessary number of days. If your installation will take more than a couple days plan your patient visits around the installation as much as possible.
The testing of the newly installed system is a critical step in ensuring a successful implementation and is often skipped by offices because they are behind on their timeline or simply expect the system to be completely operational once installed. This, however, is rarely the case. EMRs are highly customizable systems and are usually built to suit. It’s critical that during the test phase all aspects of the system are tested including the workflow, templates and any HL7 interfaces to labs, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. Too often in EMR implementations the system is not completely tested which then affects training and puts added pressure on the staff after the training process because they are using a system that is not 100% functional.
NEXT: Plan the changeover strategy
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