By Abby Polich, Nordic VP of Affiliate Solutions
Extending your EHR to your healthcare partners, whether independent or recently acquired, may seem like a simple task, especially if your initial go-live went smoothly and you feel both clinically and financially stable. However, working with these groups requires special care and consideration as you make the transition from being an IT department to an IT vendor. It also requires the leadership and support of you, the CIO, as you extend your network further into your community for continuity of care for your patients.
The Challenge
Just as your organization relies on your third-party vendors for excellent customer service and a product that exceeds your needs, your healthcare partners with whom you are sharing your EHR now rely on you, your team, and your IT expertise. This new partnership blurs the lines between their issues and yours, and you must prepare for these shared questions and concerns. You must prepare just as much, if not more, than you did for your initial go-live.
Prepare for Success
There are many considerations as you prepare for your extension go-lives. At a high level, remember the acronym below:
- Plan - Create a realistic and meaningful plan that resonates with your partners.
- Responsibilities - Identify roles and responsibilities required from each group.
- Expenses - Review the expenses that both parties will incur.
- People - Identify an experienced team of people to extend your system.
- Assess - Assess sites to ensure they are a good “fit” prior to legal partnership.
- Relationships - Build relationships at all levels with your partners.
- Engage - Engage your partner through the entire implementation process.
Continue the Conversation
Preparing to extend your EHR to your healthcare partners is only one step of many in the process to ensure you are ready to share your system with others. For more information, click here or contact us.
This post was previously featured by CHIME on Oct. 29, 2014.