It may be necessary for a practice to switch to a different Practice Management or Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software. To help you make the required change, you’ve spoken with other users, read real user evaluations, and even seen product demos for software.
However, sometimes an existing EHR Software vendor might be holding you hostage by saying that they won’t give you your patient data, or you’d simply have to pay an amount to get it. This strategy to deny you your patient data to retain users who want to switch to a new software vendor is unbearable.
What is an EMR Software Data Hostage?
When an Electronic Health Records (EHR) company takes patient data hostage, it usually indicates that they are limiting access to the data or demanding money or other terms for its release. This circumstance may have catastrophic consequences for healthcare providers and patients.
It is advised that healthcare organizations get in touch with the EMR Software provider to find out why data is being withheld and discuss possible remedies. Negotiation may be used to resolve a contractual dispute or a misunderstanding. If communication fails then legal assistance can be taken to resolve the issue and safely get the patient’s data back.
Reasons for switching Existing EMR Software vendor
According to Definitive Healthcare data from 2020, 89 percent of all hospitals have implemented inpatient or ambulatory EHR systems. Hospitals might be dissatisfied with their existing software solution and may want a switch to a new software solution. This can be due to several reasons which result in dissatisfaction and inefficiency in your practice workflows. You might want a change when,
- The current software system is not a scalable solution and is not growing with your practice.
- You need additional features and tools to help streamline administrative, clinical, and financial workflows.
- The interface didn’t turn out to be user-friendly and is clunky.
- The customer support is below average and doesn’t help you when a technical fault or an error occurs.
- The existing software system has become outdated in terms of functionality.
Understanding EHR Data Hostage Situation
A practice needs to know its exit possibilities before it buys a new healthcare software system. It is important to ask these key four questions to avoid being held as a data hostage in the future.
Will the vendor provide data extraction services or will you do it yourself?
With an additional charge, some EMR software vendors will provide data extraction services. However, if that’s not the case then you’d need to make sure that you have the right capabilities and tools for the data extraction process which is pretty complex.
What will the data extraction contain?
For Electronic Health Records Software you must obtain all data and not only the Continuity of Care Document (CCD) as in the case with certified EHRs. CCD is a requirement of Stage 2 Meaningful Use.
Will the software vendor provide read-only access or PDFs of exams?
It is wise to know if the data provided will be in a usable format to be converted to your new software system. Usually, a .csv file is the most common format that can be easily converted by software vendors. PDFs can be scanned into the new EHR Software system for reference but the data cannot be utilized for reporting and analysis.
What are the costs involved?
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Software vendors charge a high fee of $10,000 or more for data extraction to stop healthcare organizations from leaving their services. It is advised that before practices sign the final contract they know the exact costs of receiving their patient data.
Bottom Line
Patients entrust healthcare organizations and hospitals with their health information, so your practice must work with a software vendor who maintains a solid reputation in the industry, has a high retention rate, and won’t turn your software upgrade into a nightmare.
