When it comes to implementing a new EHR and achieving digital transformation goals, many health systems are ill-prepared for the 24×7 support, upgrades, and maintenance required. For example, the average IT team can spend as much as 60-75% of its time on EHR support. These teams end up overworked and unhappy, while the time and resources spent on the EHR can increase expenses. Bringing in an external IT managed services partner can provide high-quality, 24×7 support at a predictable cost. In addition, a managed services partner allows more time for your existing IT teams to focus on achieving strategic projects and initiatives and greatly decreases the probability of burnout.
As organizations begin their search for a new partner, here are tips for you to consider when evaluating an IT vendor partner.
Lay the Groundwork
By being deliberate and thorough during the early stages of discovery and evaluation periods, organizations can avoid costly errors, create a smooth transition, and ensure long-term success. Before contacting a vendor for EHR services for healthcare IT, make sure you’ve first laid the groundwork. In this stage, you’ll want to make sure you address the following elements:
- Define Your Requirements – First, assess the challenges and issues you currently face. Why do you want an application management partner? The more specific the better.
- Create A Change Management Plan – When you partner with an external team to manage and support your EHR, you are essentially welcoming these individuals into your hospital as an extension of your organization. Set expectations for how individuals will interact with your in-house employees and how they will be integrated into the team.
- Determine Your Security Requirements – Not only will these individuals be privy to internal information, but they are also handling protected[WL2] health information. Determine your requirements on access and confidentiality, as well as your expectations of the extent and frequency of the auditing process.
- Define Standard Service Level Agreements – Determine your organization’s expectations around SLAs so that you can ensure that your vendor partner is delivering the level of service you require. Define the metrics by which you will evaluate service as well as penalties should a vendor not fulfill it.
Evaluate Vendor Qualifications
At first glance, every vendor might sound ideal. After all, they are trying to make themselves look as attractive as possible. But, if you’ve asked the right questions, you should have a thorough view of which vendor aligns best with your organization’s goals.
When evaluating potential vendor partners, it is important to keep the following things in mind:
- Experience – A vendor might say they can fulfill your needs, but do they have proof of execution? Your request may not completely align with a vendor’s previous work, but it is helpful if they have comparable experience in delivering a similar level of support to other hospitals or health systems your size.
- Results – Results are the logical follow-up to experience, but their absence might be a red flag. If a vendor says they have the experience required to fulfill your needs, they should be able to demonstrate how they have successfully done so through quantifiable results. This should include the steps they took to support the client, as well as how that support impacted the client.
- References – A true assessment of a vendor’s performance is best obtained through a third party, preferably a current or former client. Check for relevance and reputation of the references to ensure they align with your industry.
Finally, it’s time to select your managed services vendor. This leads us to the final stage in the evaluation process, beginning to onboard your new managed services partner. I will cover this stage in an upcoming article.
Explore more information about HCTec’s managed services and how we can be the right partner for you.