Electronic medical records (EMR) systems are important productivity tool for doctors. Implementing EMR can be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your practice’s success. Although it is not easy to find the right product which will meet both specific practice requirements and budget.
At one point we counted over 250 different EMR systems that exist in the market. With this enormous list there are also different “help guides” to assist buyers to choose the best EMR to suite their needs and meet their budget line. The time required to do the appropriate EMR review, makes evaluating EMR’s too overwhelming. It’s difficult for the individual doctors, small practices, general practitioners, community clinics to make these kinds of investments.

The rate of EMR use in physician practices is estimated at 20%. Cost is the main barrier to EMR implementation, as cited by 86% of the hospitals responding”. American Hospital Assn. study, “Continued Progress: Hospital Use of Information Technology,” Feb. 27, 2007 (http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/03/19/bicb0319.htm ).While the quality improvement benefits of an EMR are promising, the study suggests little hope for EMRs to have any financial benefit for community clinics. And even though the clinics might not be focused on the financial return on investment, instead focusing on improved patient care, just getting financing to start the project is “a burden too great for many community clinics to bear”. The study found that only 11% of community hospitals have fully implemented EMR systems, while 57% have “partially” implemented systems and 32% have not started.

There are no empirical data or surveys measuring how many de-installs occur annually, but people in the industry estimate that 20% to 33% of EMRs fail within a year of their implementation because physicians are unhappy with the systems. With industry estimates showing that up to 80% of practices have not yet made the EMR leap, there are a lot of first-time buyers who could fall into the de-installation trap.

On-demand web service may help to overcome the above problem, when doctors can subscribe and start using the system in 5 minutes. Web service doesn’t require having upfront investment and sophisticated IT staff. Moreover the service provider also takes care about security, archiving and maintenance. Services like EMRian are well-suited for small practices and doctors.

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