Spending on technology by physicians has tripled since the 1990’s and is expected to triple again in the next six years. (1) The majority of this increase will incur in the upper three levels of the IT maturity levels – basically the levels that require physician interaction. It is anticipated that the average physician will be spending up to $14,000 for an Electron Health Record (EHR) software application and an additional $3,000 for other related 3rd party software. Additional hardware, networks, and mobile devices could raise the level of spending for the average physician to $15,000 per year on technology. Although some of these additional costs may be offset by reductions in transcription, medical record storage, improved coding and charge capture, this still represents a significant additional initial and recurrent cost, particularly for small office practices.
When choosing a system, one should focus on the system itself, its features, feel, and perhaps most importantly, the track record of the software vendor. When comparing prices between vendors, one must make sure that each vendor is offering comparable features and options. This task is one of the hardest for most physicians since there are almost 400 vendors stating that they sell the “best” product in the marketplace. Probably the single largest cost is the investment in the system hardware. Most systems require the same type of workstations but differ in the main server or servers that they require. Does the system force both small and large facilities to run the same server and database? This is important because not all physician offices require the same data storage capabilities. The higher-end databases that many EHR systems come with, are excellent for physician offices that have the system administration resources to operate them, but they are probably not appropriate for smaller practices.
When choosing a system, one should focus on the system itself, its features, feel, and perhaps most importantly, the track record of the software vendor. When comparing prices between vendors, one must make sure that each vendor is offering comparable features and options. This task is one of the hardest for most physicians since there are almost 400 vendors stating that they sell the “best” product in the marketplace. Probably the single largest cost is the investment in the system hardware. Most systems require the same type of workstations but differ in the main server or servers that they require. Does the system force both small and large facilities to run the same server and database? This is important because not all physician offices require the same data storage capabilities. The higher-end databases that many EHR systems come with, are excellent for physician offices that have the system administration resources to operate them, but they are probably not appropriate for smaller practices.
