How to rank EHR vendors based on their EHR demo

Best practice dictates that an organization should be as methodical as possible during the EHR selection process. From the start of the initial requirements gathering process throughout the selection process, some objective criteria should be used to measure an organization’s needs against how an EHR solution meets these needs. For example, a practice that has identified reducing wait times as its most pressing concern would collect information throughout the selection process and then rank these products’ performance against this goal using a scorecard.

A scorecard or objective ranking system can serve as a guide to rank shortlisted EHR vendors based on the demonstration of their product. The process of ranking is effectively a continuation of the evaluation process conducted throughout EHR selection.

How to rank EHR vendors based on their EHR demo

Just as is the case throughout the selection process, members of the selection team should continue to rank vendors during the demonstration process. The process of ranking EHR vendors based on information gathered from their product demo would involve assigning a numerical value to each function or usability characteristic identified as important on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing the lowest priority and 5 representing the highest priority. The vendor’s performance would then be scored based on ability to meet each of these functionality or usability characteristics on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 representing poor performance and 5 representing excellent performance. Once these data are tallied, a practice can add data collected from the vendor’s demo to determine a product’s suitability.

Compare EHR vendors based on their features, pricing, and implementation time frame using our free EHR comparison tool

The American Medical Association Digital Health Implementation Playbook suggests evaluating vendors across six areas: Business, Information Technology, Security, Usability, Customer Service, and Clinical Validation. Based on the scoring of these requirements, a selection team can prioritize which requirements are essential to an organization's goals and which requirements can be viewed as discretionary.

What to look for in a good EHR demo

Optimally an EHR demo should be an opportunity to gather information that can further the process of ranking and comparing products. Therefore, the main objective a selection team should focus on involves guiding the vendor to provide as much useful information as possible. As such, at a minimum, the demonstration should allow the selection team to complete their scorecard, and not deviate from the path. However, one should recognize the reality that EHR vendors, rightly, will use the demonstration as a forum to promote the product. The vendor is demonstrating its product to convince, you, the consumer to adopt their EHR solution.  However, selection teams can avoid keeping a vendor demo focused by clearly stating their needs from the start, which would prompt the vendor to pay particular attention to these areas.

Just as a vendor should provide information relevant to selection, it should also offer a demonstration that allows a selection team to view how a system will function under the same conditions it would encounter if implemented. In a similar vein, it is important to make certain the vendor does not employ workarounds in the demonstration which would also detract from the opportunity to observe the system working under real-life conditions.

EHR demos are an excellent source of information when finalizing the selection process, particularly given the fact they offer selection teams the ability to rank vendors based on up close and hands-on information. However, selection teams should be cautioned that they should take an active role in this process and not simply sit back and consume information selected by the vendor.