Free, unbiased,
independent and transparent comparisons of ambulatory
electronic medical record (EMR) systems
EMRCompare has been designed to provide physicians
and others with broader, more transparent information
than is available elsewhere about EMR systems, including
cost, functionality, and usability. Following are
the first 15 companies to enroll their products.
If you are considering purchasing EMR systems not listed
here, urge them to enroll in EMRCompare so that you can
check them out against other products.
ABELSoft
Corporation
Amazing
Charts
e-MDs,
Inc.
Health
Communication Systems, LLC
iMedica
Corporation
InteGreat Inc.
iSALUS
Healthcare
MediNotes
Corporation
Mednet
System
Noteworthy
Medical Systems
Pulse
Systems, Inc.
Sage
Software
SSIMED,
LLC
Waiting
Room Solutions
XLEMR (information pending)
You can search by company name and practice size, and
do side-by-side comparisons of products’ costs and
functionalities according to practice-size, as well as
ASP-based and INH-linked practices. By clicking
on the usability button, you can view a demonstration
of each product’s recording of a mock physician-patient
encounter. Cost and functionality data are currently
presented in spreadsheet format allowing side-by-side
comparisons. Additional search options will be added in
the future.
USING EMRCOMPARE
To view data about products relevant to your practice,
click on one or more of the topics in the sidebar. Information
is available within topic areas as follows:
Company and product information
- Company name and contact information
- Product name and description
- Practice type
- 1-3 physician practice
- 4-9 physician practice
- 10-24 physician practice
- 25 or more physician practice
- ASP-based
- IHN/hospital-linked
- Medical specialties designed for
- Medical specialties installed in
Costs
Vendors are asked to provide product cost information
in the following categories. They may decline to give
any and all cost information, but we advised them that
doing so may diminish their appeal in the marketplace.
To view cost information for specific products, click
“Cost Information” in the sidebar and then
on the linked page open the document most relevant to
you according to practice size or ASP-based, or IHN/hospital
linked, and then scroll through the following cost categories
to compare information provided about products enrolled
in that category.
- Application costs (whether by purchase, leasing, or
ASP-based)
- Third party software costs (whether by purchase, leasing,
or ASP-based)
- Other software-related costs
- Training costs
- License fees (initial and annual)
- Implementation costs for interface and conversion)
- Required hardware to implement the system
- Other implementation-related costs
- Recurring costs, e.g., annual fees for software maintenance
Functionalities
Vendors are asked to specify whether they have each functionality
within the following 3 categories; they may make comments
as well.
To view functionality information, click on “Functionalities”
in the side bar and then follow the links to any or all
of the functionality sections described below.
- Certification
- Is the product CCHIT-certifiedSM
1
? If yes, then the
vendor can skip the next subsection which lists the
HHS Recognized Ambulatory Electronic Health Record
(EHR) Criteria for Functionality, since they were
required to meet these criteria to achieve certification.
If not certified, then they must complete the following
subsection of HHS criteria.
- HHS Recognized Ambulatory Electronic Health Record
(EHR) Criteria for Functionality (129 criteria). Products
were required to meet this criteria to achieve certification
in 2006 (see bullet immediately above), so only non-certified
products must complete this subsection to identify
which of the HHS criteria they meet and which they
don’t. Again, comments may be included.
- ASTM Continuity of Care Record (CCR) or HL7 Continuity
of Care Document (CCD) Functionalities
- ASTM’s CCR is a core data set of the most
relevant administrative, demographic, and clinical
information facts about a patient’s healthcare,
covering one or more healthcare encounters. It enables
one healthcare practitioner, system, or setting to
aggregate all of the pertinent data about a patient
and forward it to another practitioner, system, or
setting to promote continuity of care.
- HL7’s CCD is the representation and mapping
of CCR data within the Clinical Documentation Architecture
(CDA).
- Products that do not implement the CCR or CCD may
indicate if they meet some of the individual criteria
within this section.
- Additional functionalities – those not addressed
in the HHS or CCR functionality lists
Usability Demonstrations
EMRCompare includes an adaptation of the Clinical
Documentation Challenge (CDC) that MRI offered at its
TEPR Conference for several years, where several hundred
physicians annually viewed as many as 23 EMR demonstrations
documenting a mock patient-provider encounter. These demonstrations
helped physicians make EMR product selections, and they
gave participating vendors access to physicians interested
in purchasing an EMR and helped them better understand
what physicians are looking for in an EMR.
At TEPR 2007, EMRCompare was launched with usability
demonstrations that replaced the CDC. The 14 companies listed
above demonstrated their products’ usability in front of
several hundred TEPR attendees (90% physicians). Before
TEPR, vendors were given instructions and information about
a mock patient for use in their usability demonstrations.
Included were patient data to be used to prepopulate a patient
record, patient information to be entered during the demonstration,
and the kinds of usability they should demonstrate, e.g.,
update problem list, transmit an Rx electronically. To view
the Usability Demonstration instructions and mock patient
information given to vendors, click
here. To view videotapes of the Usability Demonstrations,
click on "Usability Demonstrations" in the sidebar.
Self-reporting, Public Verification, and
Correction Methods
All EMRCompare information provided by vendors
is self-reported. Users are advised to assure products meet
their needs prior to purchasing them.
In order to assure the reliability and credibility of the
EMRCompare system and the truth, accuracy and completeness
of the submissions, functionality and cost self-assessments
are open to challenge by any individual or organization,
including other vendors. MRI will allow each challenge to
be posted with the name of its challenger. A vendor then
may agree to a change if a mistake has been made or may
insist that the information is correct and rebut the claim.
To discourage frivolous challenges, information regarding
who initiates challenges and the outcome of the review will
be made publicly available, and those initiating repeated
unsubstantiated challenges may themselves be subject to
review cost.
Additionally, MRI will establish a communication mechanism
for physicians and others to report on actual costs in each
of the above categories for products they have purchased.
This will provide cost information on products for which
vendors have declined to provide it, and also supplement
the vendor-reported information.
If a self-assessment statement is challenged, the vendor
must provide evidence that the self-assessment statement
is correct. Challenges and rebuttals will be addressed by
a panel of independent judges through conference calls and
web-based communications, potentially including the challenger
and the vendor, as MRI deems appropriate. If the judges
determine that the original submissions are correct, then
the dispute is considered resolved and this will be recorded
on MRI’s website. If, however, the judges decide that
the original submissions are incorrect, appropriate corrections
will be made to the EMRCompare system and the vendor
will be assessed a fee of $950 per correction.
For more information about EMRCompare, contact
claudia@medrecinst.com.
1MRI is not affiliated with, endorsed
or sponsored by CCHITSM, and CCHITSM
has not endorsed or sponsored either MRI or any of the services
or materials offered by MRI or any person or entity affiliated
with MRI. MRI cannot ensure or guarantee that your use of
its services or materials will have any effect on the outcome
of any application for certification you may make to CCHITSM
or any other entity.
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