An astute HCIT pundit recently asserted …“Adopting an EHR to get ARRA stimulus funds is like having a baby for the tax write offs.”   Well put.

Hospitals are increasingly aware of the degree of organization change and sizable costs required for successful EHR deployments. Few organizations, however, appreciate the level of unflagging commitment and ongoing investment required. 

To survive and thrive, hospitals must respond quickly to mounting regulatory and reimbursement changes and capitalize on opportunities to improve care processes and outcomes. EHRs need a solid foundation and clinician workflow-enabling tools and technologies.  While hospitals may change vendors over time, once automated, they rarely revert to paper.

Many EHR firms promote “speed to value” via accelerated implementation timelines (earlier vendor revenue recognition) and more standardized solutions.  EHR and clinical content vendors embed best practices in “starter sets” modified at each organization, with processes driven in part by capabilities (and limitations) of the specific EHR offering.  

Each of the leading EHR vendors has hundreds of hospitals with same baseline software; some top performers who embrace the system, others flounder and, in some cases, replace it.   What’s often forgotten is that most EHR benefits are driven by factors not directly related to the EHR itself.  We’ll be discussing several of these factors in the weeks to come.