Friday, January 06, 2006

Choosing an EMR company: getting consensus

The lead physician for the other FHN had chosen myNightingale as the preferred EMR. She arranged for a demonstration at their head office for her group, and invited several physicians from my group to attend.

A physician in our area had been using the product for a couple of years, and was very happy with it. He came to the demonstration to show how he was using it in his office. Having local colleagues who are already using EMRs may help, as they are familiar with the products, and will often have good ideas for implmentation.

We tried the software in the company's boardroom for several hours, and had lots of questions. There did not seem to be any obvious critical problems. It seems to me that the demonstration should be the last step; it is not a good way of making an initial decision (it is too brief, and you miss too many important points). It is a good way of getting consensus for a product, and to make sure there are no major problems.

It looked like the other FHN was going to purchase this software. We now had to decide whether it was right for our group as well.

Michelle

No comments: