Sources that currently provide information on EMR systems are helpful, as are user reviews, but they have a number of shortcomings:
• They do not cover the full range of EMR functionalities.
• They do not compare EMR products by cost.
• They do not compare the usability of EMR products.

Therefore, EMRCompare will provide physicians and others with broader information about EMR systems, including functionality, cost, and usability.

EMRCompare includes an adaptation of the Clinical Documentation Challenge (CDC) that MRI has offered at its TEPR Conference for the past nine years. Each year, several hundred physicians have viewed as many as 23 EMR demonstrations documenting a mock patient-provider encounter at these CDCs. These demonstrations have helped physicians make EMR product selections. They have also benefited participating vendors by giving them access to physicians interested in purchasing an EMR and by helping them better understand what physicians are looking for in an EMR. At TEPR 2007, EMRCompare was launched, where 14 companies demonstrated their products’ usability in front of several hundred TEPR attendees (90% physicians). Before each presentation, costs and functionality information was displayed.

The data and video recordings for the companies who currently participate in EMRCompare will be available on MRI’s website by August 2007.
For other EMR vendors, Medical Records Institute offers the next round of public presentations and records at its November 5-7, 2007 National Health Information Capture Conference in Ft. Lauderdale FL. The video and other EMR data will be added to the new library shortly after. For more information, contact claudia@medrecinst.com.