So many EHR options

I have been taked with finding the best EHR solution for my office. After speaking with other offices; some who have one, some that are partially electronic, and some that are still on paper like us; and all that I have found out is that there are a lot of different ways to go. It was really frustrating especially since the set up costs seemed to be much higher than we anticipated.

I did have a consultant stop in the office and shock me with a much more affordable solution than I had come across. He was from MD-Solution Services. Has anyone had any expirieice with them? Their website is www.md-solutionsservices.com.

We are in Northeastern PA and they are a local company. Any insite anyone may have on them would be helpful. We are leaning in their direction and were very impressed with their presentation and option.EHR

 

EHR seeker:

I have been tasked with finding the best EHR solution for my office 

Quit NOW !

Has anyone had any expirieice with them? Their website is www.md-solutionsservices.com. 

You mean ? http://www.md-solutionservices.com/

We don't have any reports on these folks.

We are leaning in their direction and were very impressed with their presentation and option.

Gosh, that sounds premature.

Before you get into bed with a Vendor, can you tell us a little bit more about your courtship ? Why didn't you ask someone else ?  Have you had any other dates ?

Call me old fashioned, but it seems like you are about to put out on the first date.

I see your point, but I did not add that we have been speaking with others as well. I have been on this task for more than 8 months now and we would like to begin implementing this summer. There was only one other that had a local presence, but they were not CCHIT certified. All of the others I was referred to had no local presence and this is a big selling point for us and teh Doctors. You are correct regarding the website. Thanks for the correction. Why QUIT NOW???? We see the value in an EHR, especially web based. It will be a time saver in the office.

You say the other local company wasn't CCHIT certified.. Is this one?  I don't see them on the CCHIT website or on their own website any mention of it.

The main issue you're going to have here is financial stability.  Sure they're local, but do they have enough customers across the nation to support them long-term?  A local company means nothing if they're out of business.  Does it really matter so much to your providers if you have to dial a '1' before their area-code?

Can you help me understand the big selling point of being local?  Are you going to drive over there for support?

 

 

Looking more at their website it looks like someone paid a college student $500 to put together a website with links and data pulled from other sources.  Look at the EHR resources and 'About EHR'.. Super generic with copy/paste from other sources.   The video they show could be any EMR system since all it shows is patient flow.

 

If you do buy this one I'd want to ensure that data export is easy, so in the case you have to go to a new EMR you can get your data out.

Real411: "If you do buy this one I'd want to ensure that data export is easy, so in the case you have to go to a new EMR you can get your data out."

I'd add to what Rea411 stated by saying for ANY EMR you buy, be sure there are export functions, such as a function to allow each pt encounter to be exported to PDF, and each patient's multiple encounters to be exported as a composite CCR.

EHR seeker:

I did have a consultant stop in the office and shock me with a much more affordable solution than I had come across. He was from MD-Solution Services. Has anyone had any expirieice with them? Their website is www.md-solutionsservices.com.

EHR seeker, this may be unfair, but the quote above sounds a little suspicious...adverpost, possibly?  I'm also a little intrigued by the number of tags on your post, as this seems a bit unusual for a first-time poster on the forum:

Filed under: EMR, EMR adoption, EMR blog, EMR certification, EMR cost, EMR EHR Software, EMR incentive payment, CCHIT, CCHIT certification, CCHIT EMR, certification EMR, cheap EMR, connecting EMR systems, customizable EMR, EHR, EHR Buyer's Guide, EMR meaningful use, emr medical, EMR pricing, EMR Software, emr system, incentive payment EMR, HITECH, cost of EMR, specialty-specific EMR, emr vendors, ehr vendors

To alleviate my skepticism, why don't you let us know what type of practice you are in, what you are looking for in an EMR, and the other programs on your "short list"?  Since you have been looking for quite a while, you must have created a list of programs that are appealing (and others which are not).  What was so impressive about this program compared to the others you have been considering?  There is clearly a wide range of costs of EMR programs (from free to incredibly expensive), so it would help to see which programs you have evaluated to understand your concern over "costs higher than anticipated".

Better yet...  Why don't you just post your name and email address.  Since we are already suspicious that you are a vendor trying to be clever it would be nice to know when you graduated from medical school, practice name etc. so we can better advise you.

For me it was the tags.  Good catch Robert.

I apologize if my blogging etiquette was not correct by placing so many tags. I am not a very computer savy individual and someone recommended this as a possible resource. When I saw the option of tags I figured it was best to put as many as possilbe to get responses. I thought I understood the idea to seek help this way was to be anonymous but I wanted to be clear, which I thought I was, that I was an office manager tasked to guide this decision along. I am not a Docotor nor would I try to represent myself as one. I did not think that these sites would be used by EHR vendors but now that you have brought it to my attention I can see how that may happen. I did check the websites of those that have attacked me for seeking help and I see that you are representing an EHR as well. I did find some value to your offensive approach and did seek some of the information you had asked about. The vendor that I referenced is not the software vendor, nor did they lead me to believe they were. They are a reseller for web based system, Medios. This system is CCHIT certified. When we sat with the rep and saw their system we were very impressed with the appearance. It did not look scary or very technical as others we looked at. Since I have been in this office for 16 years we have always used paper charts and I am very nervous about becoming computerized, so for me to feel comfortable after seeing this EHR was a huge selling point. As for our practice and cost; we are a 3 Doctor Pediatric Practice. We have received some quotes pricing from $60K to more than $100K and this option comes in less. Cost is not our deciding factor but I am sure it will weigh into the final decision. I wanted to defend myself on this site and for anyone that feels I am seeking anything other than insightful information, save us both the time not to respond. Thanks

EHR Seeker, thanks for the information.  Sorry you felt attacked, but there have been so many instances of "drive-by" posts from people pretending to be doctors who have just found the greatest EMR and wanted to share that information, but fail to provide any of the details I requested...which other systems are in the running, what are the advantages of the "preferred" system compared to the others, etc. 

Now that we know your situation (office manager, 3 pediatricians), you can give us some more of these details.  Do you know anything about the ownership of this company?  You say they are local...have you had a chance to visit another office using this system?  Visiting an office with the system in use is one of the best methods of evaluating it, and you will have some specific questions about the PM component to ask of the office manager.

I have to admit I'm a bit confused.  Your original post asked about MD-solutionservices, but in this post you refer to Medios.  Are they the same?  Do you know why they have different websites?  Also, you were told that Medios is CCHIT certified, but the website says they have been "inspected" by CCHIT, not certified.  You might want to seek independent verification of that information.

Welcome to the forum, and I look forward to hearing more about your search.

Robert

EHR seeker:

As for our practice and cost; we are a 3 Doctor Pediatric Practice. We have received some quotes pricing from $60K to more than $100K and this option comes in less. Cost is not our deciding factor...

There a lot of myths and rumors out there about EMRs. You may like this podcast - EMR Mythbusters (Description: Two technology gurus and practicing pediatricians dispel common EMR rumors to arm you with valuable information before you make the transition to a paperless (or, at least, less-papered) office.)

Also, $100,000 seems pretty steep. Nuesoft is offering a special promotion in May - $415 per month, per provider, for a complete solution (integrated practice management software and EHR).

It sounds like you are headed in the right direction - doing research. In the end, it's best to go with what you are comfortable with. Good luck in your search!

Robert:

 

I have to admit I'm a bit confused.  Your original post asked about MD-solutionservices, but in this post you refer to Medios.  Are they the same?  Do you know why they have different websites?  Also, you were told that Medios is CCHIT certified, but the website says they have been "inspected" by CCHIT, not certified.  You might want to seek independent verification of that information.

 

EHRSeeker...if you are still monitoring this thread, would you please take a minute to let us know what you learned about these questions I asked about previously? Thanks.

Sorry that i have not answered your original questions. I appreciate you following up on them. MD-Solution Services is a reseller for Medios. They are the exclusive seller of this EHR within my area. I did also confirm that they are CCHIT certified. Right now we are looking to make a decision by the end of the month and Medios is the system we are leaning towards. Thanks again for the follow up.

"I did have a consultant stop in the office and shock me with a much more affordable solution than I had come across. He was from MD-Solution Services."  Anyone that presents themselves as an EMR consultant and then goes on to sell you a specific EMR product should raise a red flag in my book.  Maybe they are a good EMR implementation consultant for that specific product, but you should be VERY leery of having them help in the EMR selection process since they are no doubt BIAS in their approach to selecting an EMR since they want to be able to help you with the EMR implementation (and likely get a kick back on the sale too).

More importantly, who gives a rip about CCHIT certification?  Some might argue that you shouldn't go with a CCHIT certified EMR.  Instead, you should be worrying about ARRA Certification (which is different than CCHIT certification).  

I'd recommend that you don't make any rash decisions.  There are 300+ EMR vendors out there and many are well below the price tag you mention.  Take your time and make sure you choose the right EMR for your practice.  Otherwise, you'll seriously regret it later.

www.md-solutionsservices.com

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