A template scorecard for your EHR vendor demos

When selecting the right EHR, you should consider several practice-specific variables. Further, the selection process should be based on a set of objective criteria that allows a practice to measure their needs and match a vendor’s performance against these criteria. During this process, you should consider how an EHR’s functionality and other characteristics aligns with a practice’s needs.

Successfully aligning EHR selection with practice needs rests on using a methodical approach; this allows stakeholders in the practice to identify their needs and then measure how closely an EHR aligns with them.

The most effective way to approach this process involves creating a scorecard that can be filled in by stakeholders during vendor demos, which allows them to assign a numerical value to each function on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 representing the lowest priority and 5 representing the highest priority.

Guide: four steps to making the most of your EHR vendor demos

Stakeholders would then score an EHR’s performance on each of these functionality or usability characteristics on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing poor performance and 5 representing excellent performance. With these data, a practice can weight performance according to priority and then gauge suitability accordingly.

Below, you’ll find a template scorecard for your EHR vendor demos. You may have to customize it a little to suit your needs - but it’s an excellent starting point.

Functionality Priority EHR performance
Can templates be easily customized?    
Does the system allow for an accurate and uncomplicated way to enter data?    
Does the system allow a user to multi-task?    
How easily can clinical documentation be edited?    
Does the system allow me to automate certain data entry functions?    
Can I complete a prescription with a few clicks?    
Can I look up medication information?    
Does the system allow a user to lookup drug interaction data?    
Can the system send prescriptions electronically?    
Can I complete a lab order within a few clicks?    
Can the system send and receive lab orders electronically?    
Does the system alert me when patient data indicates an intervention is recommended?    
Does the system provide clinical support?    
Are alerts disruptive and can they be overridden?    
Are patient education materials available?    
Is a patient portal available?    
Does the system track patients for follow-up and send out reminders?    
Can I customize reports?    
Can I query the system to produce a database of patients with certain health conditions?    
Can I manage tasks and messages remotely?    
Usability    
Is the display of data entry fields and functions intuitive for a user?    
Does the system support collaboration and exchange of information internally and externally?    
Pricing    
Does the vendor offer a subscription based option?    
Is the software available modularly or only as a complete package?    
Can you add functionality as you go along?    
How are software licenses issued?    
Is the total cost of ownership reflected in the price?    
How much will maintenance and upgrades cost?    
Support    
Will the vendor handle all aspects of implementation?    
Where does training occur and how is it offered?    
Is training offered beyond implementation and after upgrades or enhancements?    
How is support provided once the system goes live?    
How does the vendor respond if the system fails?    
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Jeff Green

About the author…

Jeff Green, MPH, JD works as a freelance writer and consultant in the Healthcare information Technology Space.

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Jeff Green

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