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Electronic Medical Records (EMR) documents patient’s medical history such as test results, medication and general clinical data in an electronic format and allows easy and rapid access to such information to authorized personnel providing patient care. EMR has brought many benefits to physician’s practice that includes better administrative reforms, reduction in costs and better profits, better coding of procedures, more accurate, legible record processing, reduced medical errors and reduce documentation time. According to the center for disease control estimates, approximately 29.2 percent of physicians reported using full EMR systems in their office-based practices in 2006. With the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and stimulus package incentives for health information technology, many physicians are expected to adopt EMR. To realize the benefits of EMR, it is essential to pick the right EMR. Few key issues before picking a new EMR include license, technical support, and import of text, image format and printers and transferring of information.

License

Some companies grant “site license” under which the user pays for the use of the software at his site with no restriction on the number of users. However, most vendors grant license for their software per user. It is essential to understand the terms and conditions because it can be more complicated than it appears. Information regarding the number of license required and the amount of time it might take for a license to become available (in simple terms, how soon another user can log on after a user logs out or after the system crashes) should be collected from the vendor.

Technical support

All vendors offer technical support, understanding how these technical supports is defined and how much it costs is essential. A cost-benefit analysis will help in deciding the technical support to opt for.

Text import into the system

Before picking an EMR, know how text other than notes can be imported and whether additional hardware and software is required. Confirm the utility of EMR in terms of importing text such as X-ray reports, notes from consultants and operative reports into the EMR. For example, scanner and an optical character recognition program convert the text on X-ray reports to text in the EMRs that saves a lot of physical storage space, and allows for easy access to information. One should be aware and be comfortable in handling these processes.

Image formats and printers that support the system

Choosing a system that allows multiple image formats allows you to select the file type that best balances efficiency with visual quality for a given kind of image. Having a system that allows multiple file formats also gives you more choice about the sources from which you can accept images. Unfortunately, not every printer will work with every EMR system. Consider the issue of printing before picking a new EMR. Make sure your printers are compatible with the EMR system.

Transferring of data

Before you buy a system, be sure that you will be able to access your data if you decide to replace it with another. Ensure that the data can easily be transferred to another system.