Stability Is Extremely Important When Choosing an EHR Company

Many, many doctors of Chiropractic have experienced or are experiencing the unpleasant task of being forced to change EHR systems.  When EHR systems became mandatory almost all doctors had to go through the exhausting process of integrating their practices and all of their records from paper to an EHR system.  Over the past several years numerous doctors have made the inadvertent mistake of choosing to use an EHR system that had not been developed in a sustainable way. 

There have been dozens of EHR systems that have come and gone over the past 10-12 years.  Many, as is typical in the software development business, chose to offer very low pricing (and usually low quality infrastructure and support structure), hoping to attract a lot of customers and therefore more investors anticipating further development.  When that model proves unsustainable they have no choice but to close their doors, leaving their clients scrambling to retrieve their records and find a new EHR system.  Other systems, whether because their product is just not very good or because of mismanagement, simply prove to be unprofitable.  This has led to many systems being bought out by the largest player in the Chiropractic software market, Chirotouch. 

Being such a big player in the industry, Chirotouch (which is not an EHR but a server based product with obsolete technology), has apparently embarked on a program of buying up failing EHR companies with the sole intent of getting their client lists and trying to convert those client to their product.  They usually support the EHR they buy for a period of time, then let the clients know they will no longer be supporting that EHR in hopes of converting them to their server based product.  This has happened to clients of at least 3 EHR companies that I know of, and is currently happening to Smartcloud/Future Health users.

I have spoken to literally hundreds of DCs who are panicking at the thought of being forced to change EHRs again.  It is not a pleasant task and often takes months to fully transition.  The chaos in the office inevitably affects staff and doctor alike often causing dips in office productivity. 

So what can I suggest?  Research the stability of the EHR you are choosing.  There are many new EHRs on the market showing a lot of flashy features to catch the eye.  But as has happened so many times in the past, here today, gone tomorrow.  SilkOne EHR is the original Cloud Chiropractic EHR.  We were the first and have built a stable foundation for continued year over year growth.  Our data centers are paid years in advance as we continue to thrive.  Our clients so not have to worry about us being bought out or going out of business.

If you are a current Smartcloud user, or are worried your current company is not providing proper support and feel they many be the next to be bought out or go out of business, do your due diligence before jumping to your next EHR system.  Although the transition to another EHR can be very trying, SilkOne provides you with a personal trainer to help with each step of the transition.  We make the process as painless as possible.  You will find, as our current clients have found, that our product has top level features, infrastructure and support.  The goal is always to find one system that you can keep for the rest of your practice life.  I know our clients feel they have found just that system !!