Comparing Vendors Part I As a healthcare leader it is important to realize you will be tasked to evaluate and

Comparing Vendors Part I

As a healthcare leader, it is important to realize you will be tasked to evaluate and select an EHR as part of an upgrade or a new implementation. In either scenario, it is important to be equipped with all the necessary information for a quality assessment of the vendor and platform to be selected.

As such, Healthcare leaders must have access tools, techniques and a solid methodology in place to perform for selecting a vendor. Some organizations plan the electronic health record (EHR) implementation step internally and develop the selection criteria they wish to use. Other practices select EHR software and then begin the planning to support the selected EHR system. Most practices develop an initial plan to identify their key goals, conduct a vendor assessment, select an EHR system that supports these goals, and finalize their plan after the selection. While setting internal goals can be an easy task, conducting a vendor assessment to support the organization goals can be challenging. Some organizations use The National Learning Consortium (NLC), (a virtual and evolving body of knowledge and tools designed to support healthcare providers and IT professionals) to assist with working towards the implementation, adoption, and Meaningful Use of certified EHR systems. 

Consider the Vendor Product assessment process.

Include the following aspects in the assignment:

Ø  Create three fictitious vendors for this assignment. All data will be created as you chose. It is suggested to create one each: large and prestigious, mid-range with limited exposure, and small, entry level. Note: the purpose of this assignment is exposure to the tools used for evaluations

Ø  Access the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and navigate to How do I select a vendor section

Ø  Download the Vendor Evaluation Matrix Tool , Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool and Vendor Pricing Template

Ø  Assess each Template and comment on its importance in the vendor comparison process

Ø  Using the grading scale on each template, randomly score each vendor. Total up your ratings for each vendor to help make your comparisons. Write the names of the vendors you are comparing in the watermark space provided in vendor columns vendor.

Ø  Summarize your findings in one or two paragraphs

Ø  Some healthcare organization will only use one specific vendor for all desired functionality or select the best technology from several vendors? What are the advantages and disadvantages using each strategy