Selection of electronic health records software: Challenges, considerations, and recommendations

The authors are engaged in on-going research on the functionality of Electronic Health Records (EHR) software, and challenges doctors and nurse practitioners face when they migrate from paper to electronic-based record keeping. Our goal is to assist small practices in the adoption of EHR software and in the optimization of their clinical and practice management functions. In this paper, we discuss challenges, considerations, and recommendations for identifying solutions suited to this health care delivery category. We present findings on installation, training and use of EHR software, based on our hands-on testing and experiences working with leading EHR vendors. We have conducted a detailed industry analysis of over 200 vendors and their offerings.