Financial Stability of Vendors
I am thinking about investing in an EHR, however there are a number of solutions in RI alone, and I want to ensure that the system I choose stays around for a while. In this economy, how do you know that the company you choose to purchase an EHR from won't go bankrupt? What are the best ways to examine the financial stability fo the vendor?
We thought it was critical to choose a vendor that would likely be around for a while, you should definitely get as much information as you can before taking the leap. You don't want to change you whole workflow and records systems only to find out that they are being bought out and the software is being decommissioned.
We did research on the matter, we liked eClinicalWorks best based upon the EMR functionality. We then looked at the company, tried to do an assessment of their stability - from a financial and business sense. We took a road trip to their headquarters and spent half a day. We also chose someone "local" figuring that support might be more reliable, though now they have other offices popping up in other parts of the country.
Using an EHR? Yes - eClinicalWorks
Disclosure: Owner/practicing partner of Aquidneck Medical Associates, Inc. Contracted as the Case Management Physician Advisor at Newport Hospital (a Lifespan affiliate) and as an advisor for BCBS of RI to help facilitate HIT integration in community practices
If the vendor is a public company, you can learn more than you probably want to know about their financial status from the SEC filings that they are required to make for their shareholders. Many SEC filings are avialable on public domain web sites, including government sites like http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
If the vendor is a privately held corporation, it can be very difficult to learn about the financial status of the vendor. In some cases a vendor will be willing to allow a prospect to view a financial balance sheet in the course of contract negotiations, but that is not common practice.
Before you enter a contractual relationship with any EHR vendor, it is worth checking with your local Better Business Bureau (http://rhodeisland.bbb.org/) for compliants or other problems reported about that vendor.
Using an EHR? Yes - Cerner Millennium
Disclosure: No ownership or financial interest in any related business or association