Everything you need to know about EHRs and data migration

Your patients’ data is at the heart of your ability to provide quality, responsive care. The patient’s electronic health record (EHR) contains information about visits to other providers, lab results, and indications of potential conditions that will affect the way you treat them for the best possible outcome. Protecting that data is critically important, particularly as you undergo the process of EHR data migration.

Understanding all that you need to know about EHRs and data migration can save your practice from exposing or losing patient information and that can mean the difference in the success and continued viability of your new independent practice. Whether you are migrating from one vendor to another, from an outdated platform to a newer one, or to a certified EHR solution, keep in mind a few guidelines that will ease the transition for you, your clinical team, and your patients.

• Review your existing data to determine whether it needs to be cleaned up before migrating. Duplications and outdated information should be reduced and eliminated where possible.
• Work with your team and your vendor to plan the migration. Determine a date that makes the most sense for your practice and then ensure that everyone is on board to make it happen.
• Establish a workflow process for the migration as well as for ongoing data input and maintenance once the transition is complete.
• Verify the accuracy of your data throughout the EHR data migration process. This is a particularly important step if you are uploading information from paper files.
• Train your staff as you work through the EHR data migration to the new platform. When your staff is better prepared, you’ll have much less downtime and, more critically, less time becoming proficient with the new system.

Elation enables you to seamlessly transition your data with customized implementation and data import support. Learn more about the Elation EHR solution and secure, seamless data migration for your independent practice.

Your independent practice is not alone in your desire or need to migrate data. Many practices are doing so as they see the need to move to a secure cloud-based solution that requires less on-site maintenance, the need to maintain certified EHRs to participate in value-based incentive programs, and the need to improve their interoperability for improved coordinated care.

There are many benefits to migrating data from an on-site EHR to a cloud-based solution, including the fact that the configuring, security, and software is handled by the software as a service (SAAS) provider so you and your staff will have fewer worries about the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of your EHR data migration.

Once the transition is complete, your patient data will be maintained on an external server rather than a physical machine within your practice. You and your team will be able to access the data seamlessly and quickly while you spend more time focused on your patients, providing the quality care they deserve and expect from your new practice.