AN INTRO TO

Sourcing EMR Software

The Ultimate Guide to Sourcing an EMR For Your Home Health or Hospice Agency

KELLI COVIELLO MARKETING DIRECTOR, THORNBERRY LTD

A Publication of

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction The 10 Signs That You Should Start Looking for a New EMR The 6 Key Steps to Include In Your Process The 7 Most Important Questions to Ask a Potential Vendor Next Steps

Introduction Sourcing  new  so-ware  can  be  a  huge  opportunity  for  both  the  growth  of  your  business  and  of  your  career.      This  large  spend  is  seen  as  strategic  and  cri9cal  to  the  success  of  your  business.  This  is  partly  why  it  can  seem  like  an  overwhelming  project.  You  are  focused  on  running  the  day-­‐to-­‐day  opera9ons,  who  can  find  the  9me?  Luckily,  we  have  put  together  a  guide  to  help  walk  you  through  the  steps  that  you  should  be  taking.  Finding  the  right  EMR  for  your  agency,  will  improve  processes  and  ul9mate  save  your  agency  money  and  increase  profits.  Having  the  right  process  in  place,  will  drive  sustainable  savings  and  minimize  your  risks.  Once  you  read  this  ebook  cover  to  cover,  you  will  have  a  solid  understanding  of  how  to  run  your  project  and  impress  your  boss  and  colleagues  with  your  new  found  strategic  sourcing  skills.    

CHAPTER

1 The 10 Signs You Should Look for a New EMR

The Top 10 Signs  You Should Start Looking For a New EMR  

There  is  nothing  more  frustra9ng  than  going  through  a  long    search  for  EMR  so-ware  to  only  find  out  a-er  implementa9on    that  the  so-ware  missed  the  mark  and  is  not  mee9ng  your    expecta9ons.  Instead  of  delivering  on  promises  made  during  the    sales  process,  you  are  now  experiencing  increased  process  9me,    poor  customer  service  and  a  dangerous  lack  of  visibility  into  agency  opera9ons.    Nobody  likes  change.  Well,  I  do,  but  I  spent  the  majority  of  my  career  in  strategic  sourcing  so  crea9ng  risk  mi9ga9on  strategies  for  switching  suppliers  was  my  job.  Most  people  hate  change.  You  need  to  be  focused  on  your  day-­‐to-­‐day  opera9ons  so  having  to  change  suppliers  sounds  painful.  However,  if  you  find  the  right  partner,  they  should  provide  a  smooth  transi9on.    So,  in  this  first  chapter,  we  are  outlining  the  top  10  warning  signs  that  you  should  start  looking  for  a  new  EMR.                                  

1.  You  are  experiencing  performance  issues  2.  Your  staff  cannot  complete  tasks  efficiently  3.  You  cannot  adequately  control  opera9ons  4.  You  con9nuously  need  to  use  technical  support  5.  Your  vendor  fails  to  meet  deliverables  on  9me  6.  You  are  adap9ng  your  processes  to  the  so-ware  and  

not  vice  versa  7.  You  are  having  to  perform  repor9ng  workarounds  8.  Your  vendor  does  not  have  the  capability  to  support  

your  growth  strategy  9.  Your  vendor  is  focused  on  delivering  new  so-ware  and  

not  suppor9ng  current  version  10. Regulatory  changes  are  late  or  last  minute  

“ Your  success  in  life  isn't  based  on  your  ability  to  simply  change.  It  is  based  on  your  ability  to  change  faster  than  your  compe99on,  customers  and  business   ” - Mark Sanborn

If  you  con9nue  to  wait  un9l  you  are  compelled  to  change,  you    have  probably  waited  far  too  long.  Not  only  have  you  been  using  so-ware  that  is  most  likely  ea9ng  away  at  your  profits,  but  the  longer  you  con9nue  to  wait,  the  more  difficult  it  will  be  to  change.  The  market  is  very  compe99ve,  you  do  not  want  to  get  to  the  point  that  you  are  losing  referrals  to  other  agencies.  Look  for  a  vendor  that  is  designed  for  smooth  implementa9on,  quick  support,  flexibility  and  return  on  investment.  The  home  health  agency  landscape  is  extremely  compe99ve,    will  your  current  EMR  prohibit  you  from  being  considered  the  right  one  to  send  referrals?          

CHAPTER

2 The 6 Steps to Include in Your Sourcing Process

A 6 Step Process  The Steps to Include in Your Search  

Everyone  has  been  there  at  some  point.  You  meet  with  vendors  and  view  their  demos.  You  get  a  feel  for  which  one  you  think  is  a  good  fit  and  make  a  quick  decision  so  you  can  get  implementa9on  started.  You  are  so  pressed  for  9me  that  you  don't  perform  all  of  the  due  diligence  such  as  calling  customer  references  or  laying  out  decision  criteria  ahead  of  9me.  Then  a  few  months  down  the  road  you  start  to  realize  that  the  so-ware  isn't  the  right  fit  for  your  agency.  You  wish  you  could  jump  in  your  9me  machine  and  do  it  over  again  but  you  aren't  Michael  J.  Fox  and  this  isn't  the  movies.  But,  that  car  was  pre`y  cool,  wasn’t  it?    Having  to  go  through  the  process  of  finding  new  so-ware  can  be  daun9ng.  Going  through  the  proper  steps  is  the  best  strategy  for  mi9ga9ng  risk.  So-ware  is  not  a  commodity,  it's  a  strategic  purchase  that  will  either  help  or  hinder  your  profitable  growth.  Luckily,  we  have  outlined  a  6  step  process  for  you  to  follow  that  will  help  you  through  your  so-ware  search.        

q  Determine  your  pain  and  iden9fy  your  needs  q  Align  goals  with  execu9ve  ini9a9ves  q  Iden9fy  other  systems  that  need  to  be  integrated  

1. Identify the Scope and Specifications  

2. Evaluate the Market  q  Conduct  an  assessment  of  the  market  q  Use  resources  such  as  KLAS  reports  and  analyst  reviews  q  Ask  for  customer  references  and  seek  out  referrals  

3. Finalize and Prioritize Requirements  q  Develop  a  Decision  Criteria  Matrix  q  Make  certain  to  share  the  same  informa9on  to  all  

vendors  –  This  assures  an  apples  to  apples  comparison  

5. Selection/Award  q  Finalize  contract  nego9a9ons  q  Communicate  to  all  vendors  that  business  has  been  

awarded.    q  Share  with  vendors  the  reason  for  lost  business.  It  only  

helps  you  for  future  evalua9ons.    

6. Implementation  q  Iden9fy  any  transi9on  needs  (data,  processes)  q  Create  a  transi9on/implementa9on  plan  with  your  

chosen  vendor  q  Alert  users  and  share  benefits  of  new  system  

4. Evaluate Product Demo and Pricing Proposal  

q  Make  certain  are  the  product  that  you  are  being  shown  in  the  demo  is  the  same  product  you  will  be  implemen9ng  

q  Score  and  rank  vendors  based  upon  pre-­‐determined  criteria  –  This  assures  that  your  decision  is  objec9ve.  For  

instance,  func9onality  has  a  weight  higher  than  appearance.  

q  Focus  on  Total  Cost  of  Ownership  

CHAPTER

3 The 7 Most Important Questions

to Ask a Potential Vendor

The 7 Most Critical Questions  

 When  considering  purchasing  new  so-ware  for  your  home  health  or  hospice  agency  there  are  cri9cal  ques9ons  to  ask  outside  of  feature/func9on.  You  should  learn  as  much  about  this  poten9al  new  partner  as  possible.  I  have  men9oned  this  in  a  previous  blog  post,  but  this  is  a  strategic  partnership.  Having  spent  the  majority  of  my  career  in  strategic  sourcing  ,  I  can  tell  you  from  experience  that  be`er  vendor  rela9onships  lead  to  be`er  business  performance  and  profitability.  To  this  point,  you  want  to  find  a  partner  that  closely  aligns  with  the  goals  and  objec9ves  of  your  growth  strategy.  Ask  yourself,  how  will  this  vendor  improve  care  coordina9on?  Can  this  vendor  provide  cri9cal  data  to  ACO's  for  popula9on  health?                                

Do  your  research.  How  long  has  the  company  been  in  business?  Are  they  stable  and  profitable?  What  is  their  customer  acquisi9on  strategy?  How  much  do  they  focus  on  research  and  development?  How  is  their  customer  service  and  support?  Many  of  these  ques9ons  can  be  answered  by  asking  current  customers.  Always  ask  for  customer  references.  I  cannot  stress  enough  how  important  this  step  is  in  your  process.  I  have  also  been  known  to  ask  about  customers  they  have  lost  and  why.  Sounds  like  a  crazy  ques9on  but  how  the  vendor  answers  is  very  telling.  The  quality  of  an  EMR  doesn't  equal  how  large  the  company  is,  but  how  honest,  open  and  dedicated  they  are  to  their  customers.  Speaking  of  size,  you  should  include  a  diverse  group  of  players.  Buying  from  the  big  players  doesn't  safeguard  that  your  so-ware  won't  be  phased  out  or  that  you  will  receive  acceptable  support.  I  have  o-en  found  the  smaller  players  to  make  the  best  partnerships.                                  

       There  are  many  ques9ons  to  ask  your  vendor  pool,  but  here  we  have  outlined  the  7  that  agencies  we  have  spoken  with  find  most  important:    1.  Do  you  guarantee  that  your  product  will  be  updated  in  order  

to  meet  any  new  or  evolving  requirements?  2.  How  does  your  product  support  readmission  preven=on?  3.  Tell  us  about  your  implementa=on  process?  Is  there  addi=onal  

cost  for  re-­‐training?  4.  How  did  you  rank  in  the  well-­‐regarded  KLAS  Research?  5.  Does  your  product  allow  interoperability  with  our  key  partners  

including  the  hospitals  and  other  sources  of  referral?  6.  Is  your  pricing  all  inclusive?  Is  there  anything  that  we  could  be  

charged  for  that  isn't  on  your  price  list?    7.  What  type  of  support  do  you  provide  aOer  implementa=on?  

How  do  your  customers  score  you  in  this  area?    Whether  you  are  implemen9ng  EMR  so-ware  for  the  first  9me  or  replacing  exis9ng  so-ware  that  isn't  mee9ng  your  needs,  you  should  make  certain  that  you  have  thoroughly    ve`ed  the  vendor.  These  are  just  a  sample  of  some  of  the  ques9ons  that  agencies  we  have  spoken  to  find  most  important.  If  you  would  like  to  learn  more  or  have  ques9ons  about  the  process  that  you  should  take,  we  are  always  happy  to  help.            

NEXT STEPS If you have questions about the process you

should follow or you would like to start discussing setting up a custom demo, let’s talk!

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