Elise Ames and Vince Ciotti has an interesting follow up post on Health System CIO that looks at Epic versus Cerner in the hospital EHR (or HIS if you prefer) market. The reality is pretty simple. Epic or Cerner are both going to be around for a long time to come. Although, I really enjoyed the 5 pieces of advice they offer at the end of the post for those buying a new car EHR (LIS):
- Owner’s manual —it’s sitting right there in the glove box. For an HIS, check out the user manuals – they’re all on-line today. And unlike RFP feature checklist responses, they contain the truth…
- Chat with the mechanics — they know what works well, and what breaks the most. For an HIS, ask to meet your implementation project manager before signing, and ask about their staff and (non?) experience…
- Take a test drive in the model you’re buying, and on the roads you’ll be travelling. For an HIS, make unchaperoned site visits and phone calls to client hospitals of your size and using your apps…
- Check out the warranty — what’s covered versus what’s not? With an HIS, ask for a boilerplate contract and request changes while you still have some competitive pressure…
- Negotiate price — don’t tell the Chevy dealer he won, then ask for a discount. Tell him you may buy a Ford unless he gives you a deal… After all, no one pays list price for a mega-buck HIS, do they?
I’ve heard of many of these suggestions before. However, the first one was one I hadn’t heard before. It’s a great idea and is the beauty of the internet. I’m also surprised by those that don’t do “unchaperoned” visits to current users of an EHR. Yes, it’s one thing to go to a reference site for an EHR. That’s a good thing as well, but you’ll get more value visiting one that isn’t a reference site per se.
