One of the often overlooked areas of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) software implementation occurs long before software implementation. After months of careful review of various vendor options to identify software that best matches its requirements, a health care organization (HCO) may want to leap to implementation. While it is important to capitalize on the enthusiasm of the moment, it is prudent for an HCO to take time to negotiate a contract that clearly defines what constitutes a successful EHR implementation.
Health care vendor software contracts can be loosely worded so that no one can truly identify what is being purchased or can be so one sided in the vendor’s favor that there is little accountability if something goes wrong. Implementing an enterprise EHR system is a decision that the organization will likely have to live with for seven to ten years, or more; therefore, it is best to make certain all expectations are addressed up front.
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