Your technology infrastructure may not have seen any significant investments in years, so how can you even focus on implementing an electronic health record or practice management system?
Perhaps you’re sick of the rigidity of your existing client-server systems and would prefer to purchase applications from an external provider with a reputation in the healthcare industry.
The point is, whether you don’t have an EHR or you’re leaving your old client-server PM product, it’s likely your medical practice will reap significant benefits from switching over to the cloud. The reasons to switch are endless and rather convincing on their own.
But how should you go about it?
Choose Your Approach
You want to implement a cloud-based EHR or PM system but can’t figure out what kind of approach you want to take – after all, you’ll be at it for approximately 6-9 months and don’t want to start off on the wrong foot. Should you take the dive and do it in one shot, or maybe play it safe and take your time?
Well, there are pros and cons to doing both. A more gradual, step-by-step approach is safer, resulting in less tension for all parties involved. It also entails a highly organized strategy – benchmarks need to be set and adhered to strictly. So if you plan to record ten patients via your EHR weekly, ensure your goal is met.
Perhaps an all-at-once approach suits your practice a little better – set a date and start using your EHR or PM system from there on out for every patient. You can utilize the same pre-launch checklist you would with the previous approach, complete with the setup phase and training components.
Check Your Hardware
It’s advised you don’t switch to the cloud on outdated hardware. Your PM and/or EHR system vendor will provide minimum hardware requirements including processor speed and RAM, but you should really strive for recommended software requirements. You want your system to run at an optimal level.
Furthermore, it’s essential that you set up a proper infrastructure, so as to sustain your hardware and a functioning cloud-based system with ease. It’s a good idea to hire an expert or some sort of consultant when equipping your practice for the transition.
Learn About Security
At this point, it’s also prudent to gain an understanding of data security and privacy in the cloud. The levels of security are much higher in the cloud than what an in-house IT department is usually capable of, seeing as cloud computing forces you to put all of your security in the application layer.
In other words, operating your practice on the cloud goes beyond just keeping your server behind a locked door. In addition, cloud providers maintain systems that attest to privacy standards like HIPAA and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).
Consider a Financing Model
Sure, there are costs associated with transitioning to the cloud, but they’re quickly recoverable and can result in a rather desirable return on investment (ROI). A 2011 AFCOM study states that on average, cloud users across all industries report saving 21% annually on those applications moved to the cloud.
Your ROI alone implies the reason why updating your practice infrastructure is so imperative – your practice will operate on a platform shared across many customers, so your costs are much smaller than if you were purchasing an entire client-server system.
Nevertheless, be prepared for an upfront cost that may or may not include a migration project, and try timing your moves so they coincide with previously planned hardware spend. This makes the initial investment significantly lower than continuing with the status quo.
In the end, don’t be afraid to ask both yourself and potential vendors the tough questions before transitioning to the cloud. How will the transition help your practice’s business goals? What changes should your practice make? How does your hardware before the cloud need to change to support your future SaaS application?
It’s important to discern the long-term impacts of your decisions before structuring a very detailed transition plan. Oh, and don’t feel the need to rush, either. The cloud isn’t going anywhere.
