STEPS TO SUCCESS #6
Transferring Legacy Data — Start with the Essentials
Established practices have mountains of data stored in old charts, but it’s neither practical nor reasonable to transfer all that data to the EHR. Create a clear plan for defining what portions of current charts you’ll transfer and from how far into the past you want to retain records.
Your decisions will be determined by practice preferences, physician needs, and available time and money. The more data loaded into the system at launch — whether by you or your vendor — the sooner you’ll see the benefits of the EHR.
There are three options for dealing with legacy data at launch:
- No pre-loading. In this scenario, paper charts are retained for reference. All visits after the go-live date use the EHR.
- Pre-load limited data. With this plan, the EHR is pre-loaded with commonly referenced data like current medications, chronic conditions, immunization history, and allergies. This approach reduces the need to pull paper charts for most visits.
- Pre-load all information from the last year. Ideally, your vendor will assist you in this scenario, since the data input volume is high. In this case, older paper charts are retained for reference.