ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD

Demonstration Questions

 

The following questionnaire is provided to you to assist in the process of EMR selection. During the EMR selection process, it can become very difficult to remember which vendor had which feature. This is especially true if you are evaluating more than three EMR companies.

 

What is really helpful is to place these questions in a spreadsheet and then apply a weight based on the importance of the feature. Each vendor will either get a 1 or a 0 based on the existence of the feature. Next, calculate the total scores using the weighted values. This will allow you to compare EMR vendors apples to apples. Once you have the top three score, you can then evaluate based on pricing.  Lastly, have the vendor complete the form for you prior to the demonstration and have them sign and date it.  If you choose to select that vendor, include this list as part of the contract.  This should give you some protection as to the availble features the vendor has said that exist in their software.

 

 

 

EMR Vendor Name: _____________________ Demo Date:______________

 

 

Demonstration Given By:  _________________________________________

 

 

Signature:_____________________________________________________

 

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Allergies

 

Does the system track patient allergies? ___________

 

Does the system track allergy reactions? ___________

 

Does the system alert the physician/nurse of allergies when prescribing medications? ___________

 

Does the system alert the physician/nurse of allergies during the documentation of the encounter? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Appointment Call System

 

Does the system work with any automated appointment call systems? ___________

 

  

EMR Questions Group: Artwork

 

Can the system maintain graphic art or sketches over a graphical picture of the body?___________

 

Does the system support anatomical drawings? ___________

 

Does the system com with Pre-Built Anatomical drawings? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Attachments

 

Can the system capture voice using the built-in microphone from the tablet pc and then save it as a wave file? ___________

 

Can the system attach .jpg files? ___________

 

Does the attachment get stored in the clinical encounter? ___________

 

Does the attachment get stored in the demographics section of the patient record? ___________

 

Can a description be added to the attachment? ___________

 

Do all attachments for the patients appear in a grid view list? ___________

 

Can the list be sorted by attachment date? ___________

 

Can the list be sorted by encounter date? ___________

 

Can the user link to the encounter detail from a button close to the attachment? ___________

 

Can the list be sorted by description? ___________

 

Can windows media files be attached to the patient’s chart? ___________

 

Can QuickTime files be attached and played from the patients chart? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Billing

 

Does the system check for E&M compliance? ___________

 

Does the system perform assignment of coding during the encounter? ___________

 

Some EMR system will tie the ICD9 code to CPT codes using templating.  This feature is extremely time consuming to setup but significantly impacts the billing department because there is little work to be done when the charges hit their side of the office.  Typically, the biller does not have to be concerned with which ICD9 is tied to which CPT because it was already done in the encounter.  The function of the biller generally changes to a “reviewer” which allow them to get the claims out the door much faster.

 

 

Does the system support the ability to auto calculate the complexity of the visit? ___________

This feature is typically only found on systems that are codified using either MEDCIN or SNOMED

 

Does the system check for medical necessity based on Medicare requirements? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Bubble Sheets

 

Can the system collect demographic data from the patients using bubble sheets? ___________

 

Can the system collect HPI data from the patients using bubble sheets? ___________

 

Can the system collect past family social history using bubble sheets? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Codified Systems – MEDCIN, SNOMED, LOINC

 

Does the system support the ability to capture clinical elements using MEDCIN? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to collect custom elements using MEDCIN? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to build clinical templates using MEDCIN clinical elements? _____

 

Does the system support the ability to capture clinical elements using SNOMED? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to collect custom elements using SNOMED? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to build clinical templates using SNOMED clinical elements? _____

 

Does the system support the ability to track lab results using LOINC codes? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to intelligently prompt the user with MEDCIN suggestions? ______

 

EMR Questions Group: Dictation

 

Does the system have the ability to capture voice files from the tablet PC microphone and then convert that audio into text? ___________

 

Does the system have the ability to capture voice files and save them in a queued format for dictating by a third party reviewer? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to use Dragon Naturally Speaking directly in the program? ______

Some EMR vendors say they support Dragon Naturally Speaking but the user must dictate into a Notepad, then select the text, then copy the text, then past the text in the EMR application.

 

Does the system support all of Dragon Naturally Speaking features within the EMR application?______

 

Does the system support Dragon Naturally Speaking in a Terminal Services environment?__________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Clinical Outcomes / Disease Management / Flow Sheets

 

Does the system have the ability to capture support the tracking of episodes?___________

Some EMR systems allow a grouping number to be assigned to specific encounters to group all encounters that refer to diabetes, or GERD, etc.  These systems then allow you to flag the encounters outcome and then report on the specific disease a patient may have to track clinical outcomes.

 

Does the system utilize flow sheets to track the results of lab data? ___________

 

Does the system allow the flow sheets to be customized by the user? ___________

 

Does the system allow the flow sheets to include medications the patient takes? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Education

 

Does the system contain education material based on the diagnosis of the patient? ___________

 

Does the system contain specialty specific education? ___________

 

Does the system contain educational material in Spanish or other languages? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Email

 

Does the system contain a built in email system? ___________

 

Does the email system have the ability to send and receive email to external users with Internet email accounts? ___________

 

Can they system email clinical information from a patients chart to an external user? ___________

 

Does they email system use any type of encryption to transmit patient data? ___________

 

Does the system utilize Microsoft Outlook for email? ___________

 

Can the system interface with Microsoft Outlook to obtain email? ___________

 

Can the system interface with Microsoft Outlook to obtain calendar information? ___________

 

Can the system interface with Microsoft Outlook to obtain task information? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Clinical Event Management

 

Does the system contain the ability to give alerts based on clinical thresholds? ___________

Some EMR systems can run a process that is based on rules setup for clinical thresholds.  An example might be all male patients with a BMI of XXX and a Lab Result of XXX between the age of X and Y then present Alert.

 

Can clinical alerts be presented during the patient encounter screen so the physician/nurse is immediately aware of the alert? ___________

 

Can clinical alerts be created from lab results that have been manually entered into the system? ____

 

Can clinical alerts be created from lab results that have been automatically posted to the system?____

 

Can clinical alerts be created from Radiology negative results? ___________

Can clinical alerts be created from lab results that have not been received by a specific date? _______

 

Can clinical alerts be created from Radiology results that have not been received by a specific date? _______

 

EMR Questions Group: Faxing

 

Does the system contain a built-in fax server? ___________

 

Does the system have the ability to fax referral letters through the built-in fax server? ___________

 

Does the system have the ability to fax clinical encounter data through the built-in fax server? ______

 

Does the system have the ability to receive faxes into the built-in fax server? ___________

 

Does the system have the ability to process a fax into a patient’s record from the built-in fax server? __________

 

Does the system have the capability to print to an existing fax server? ___________

 

Does the system have the capability to connect to a network based copier/fax/scanner? ___________

 

Does the system have the capability of displaying only those patients waiting for order so the fax can be attached to the patients chart without searching for the patient first? ___________

 

Does the system allow you to open the received fax within the EMR application before the fax is attached to the patient chart? ___________

 

Does the fax feature work in an ASP environment? ___________

 

Can prescriptions be faxed from the system? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Flow Sheets

 

Can discrete data be graphed? ___________

 

Can clinical elements documented in an encounter be flowcharted? ___________

 

Can flow sheets be customized by the clinician? ___________

 

Can a physician create their own flow sheet? ___________

 

Can flow sheets include patient vitals? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Forms

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Asthma? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Discharge Instructions? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Operating Room Record? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Operative Reports? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Physical Therapy? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Physician Orders? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for PT Evaluation? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Return to Work? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Work Clearance? ___________

 

Do prebuilt forms exist for Workers Comp  Ex TWCC? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Growth Charts

 

Does the system contain growth charts? ___________

  

 

EMR Questions Group: Hospitalization

 

Does the system track information about prior hospitalizations for other physicians? ___________

 

Can prior hospitalizations be sorted with current hospitalizations? ___________

 

Can hospital discharge reports be associated with the hospitalization record? ___________

 

Can OP reports be associated with the hospitalization record? ___________

 

Can all hospitalizations be displayed in a grid format? ___________

 

Can the grid be sorted by any of the columns displayed? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Immunizations

 

Does the system track all immunizations a patient has been given? ___________

 

Does the system track previous immunizations a patient have been given? ___________

 

Does the system allow the user to sort the immunizations that have been given to a patient? ___________

 

  

EMR Questions Group: Insurance

 

Does the system support formularies from multiple payers? ___________

 

Does the system support automatic updates from formularies? ___________

 

Does the system support online eligibility checking? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Interface

 

Does the system support HL7 interfaces? ___________

 

Is the system capable of interfacing with LabCorp? ___________

 

Is the system capable of interfacing with CPL? ___________

 

Is the system capable of interfacing with Quest? ___________

 

Is the system capable of interfacing with Smith Kline Beechum? ___________

 

Can the system interface with MediTech? ___________

 

Can your system interface with McKessen? ___________

 

Can your system interface with Siemens? ___________

 

Does your PMS interface with the Appointment Scheduler? ___________

 

Does your PMS interface with the Billing Module? ___________

 

Does your system interface with any patient registration systems? ___________

Does your system interface with any radiology systems? ___________

 

Does your system have a separate folder dedicated for radiology results? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Macros

 

Does your system support the ability to create paragraphs of text and then recall the text via command macros built into the system? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to use the Alt Key + Custom Defined Keystroke to access specific areas of the application? ___________

 

EMR Questions Group: Medications

 

Does the system support adverse drug reaction lists? ___________

 

Does the system support drug-to-drug reactions lists? ___________

 

Does the system support alerts to patient adverse reactions? ___________

 

Does the system document medications that the patient is already taking not prescribed by physicians? ___________

 

Does the system check for drug interaction on past medications patient has been prescribed? ___________

 

Does system support drug-to-pregnancy reaction lists? ___________

 

Does the system support general alternatives? ___________

 

How often is the drug database updated? ___________

 

Can the provider manually update the drug database? ___________

 

Can each provider have their favorites list of commonly prescribed drugs? ___________

 

Can prescriptions be designated to print to a specific printer every time? ___________

 

Can prescriptions be designated to print to a specific printer per physician every time? ___________

 

Can prescriptions print to a laser printer with dual trays.  Top tray would contain prescription paper and the bottom would contain 8 ½ x 11.  ___________

 

Can prescriptions be sent to pharmacies electronically? ___________

 

Can the pharmacist make prescription refills electronically? ___________

 

Does the system provide education about prescriptions? ___________

 

Does the system provide education about prescriptions in Spanish? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Orders

 

Does the system support “standing order sets”? ___________

 

Can the system send a Orders Request via a HL7 Interface? ___________

 

Can order results be manually entered? ___________

 

Can order results be received as individual fields of data via an HL7 interface? ___________

 

Can order results be scanned and attached to the patient encounter requiring the order? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability for the physician to be alerted if order results have not been received by X amount of days? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to enter past radiology data for a patient that was not ordered by the physician? ___________

 

When the physician orders a Lab procedure or a Radiology procedure, can the system automatically print the order at the front desk for scheduling? _______

 

Does the system assign the physician name to the order after it has been reviewed? _______

 

  

EMR Questions Group: Radiology

 

Does the system support the ability to view prior X-Rays by order date? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to view prior X-Rays by perform date? ___________

 

Does the system support the integration of PACS software like Tiger? ___________

 

Does the system support the integration with Kodak PACS? ___________

 

Does the system support the integration with a RIS system? ___________

 

Does the system support the ability to create a radiology order and that order to appear in a queue for the radiology tech to fulfill?

 

Does the system track the time the patient has spent getting Radiology done? ___________

 

Does the system allow the Radiology tech to alert the physician/nurse that the Radiology is complete for the patient? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Referrals

 

Does the system support the ability to create a custom consult letter with fields from both demographic data and clinical encounter data? ___________

 

Does the system allow the physician to track authorization numbers for referrals? ___________

 

Does the system allow the physician to track number of visists allowed for each authorization number? _________

 

Does the system allow the physician to track the authorization expiration date? ___________

 

Does the system alert the front desk user when making an appointment that the maximum number of visits has been met before making the appointment for the patient? ___________

 

Does the system alert the front desk user when making an appointment that the expiration date has expired for the authorization? ___________

 

Can the system produce a report that can show all patients that are X days from authorization expiration? ___________

 

 EMR Questions Group: Reports

 

Can the system produce labels for lab / radiology orders in advance? ___________

 

Can the system produce address labels for appointment reminders? ___________

 

Can a user create ad-hoc reports with a customer report generator? ___________

 

Can all data be accessed via an ODBC connection? ___________

This allows the physician to use 3rd party report writers like Crystal Reports

 

 

EMR Questions Group: Results

 

Can the system provide some type of tickler reports to alert the practice that lab results have not been received? ___________

  

Does the system have some type of tickler report for missing lab results? ___________

 

Are lab results documented in the encounter note after they have been posted? ___________

 

Are Radiology results documented in the encounter note after they have been posted? ___________

 

Does the system alert the physician and nurse that results have been received but not reviewed? ___________

  

 

EMR Questions Group: Scanning

 

Can the EMR accept images from a scanner connected to a workstation? ___________

 

Can the EMR accept images from a network connected scanner? ___________

 

Can the EMR view the scanned image before attaching the image to the chart? ___________

 

Does the EMR system use its own software to control the scanner? ___________

Typically this is the better way of handling scanning of images.  When the EMR vendor has to rely on the software that came with the scanner, the user has to wait for the application to load and then finally transfer the image to the EMR software.  Also, the software from the manufacture can be less stable than the software from the EMR Company.  With some scanners, you find that you have to constantly reinstall the software from the manufacture.

 

Does the EMR system rely on the software that came from the manufacture to import images? ___________

 

Can the system scan bar codes for entering patient demographics information? ___________

 

Does the system provide a queue of patients that are waiting for outstanding orders to be scanned in? ___________

 

Can the user create custom folders to store the images that are scanned in? ___________

 

When viewing a folder where the images are stored, is there any indication that images are located in the folder? ___________

 

Does the system tell you exactly how many images are in each folder where images are stored? ___________

 

Can you drag and drop images between folders where images are stored? ___________

 

Can you delete images from a folder? ___________

 

Can you tag images with descriptive information? ___________

 

Can all images be denoted in a grid format and then clicked on if the user wants to view the image? ___________

 

Can the descriptive information in the grid format be sorted by any column that is displayed? ___________

  

 

EMR Questions Group: Summary Screen

 

Does the system have a patient summary screen that displays past encounters, medications, surgeries, etc? ___________

 

Can the physician customize the summary screen on a per physician basis? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display advanced directives? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display communicable diseases? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current allergies? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current medications? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current allergies? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current problems? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current encounters? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current immunizations? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display mental health summary? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display current orders? ___________

 

Does the patient summary screen display substance abuse? ___________

 

  

EMR Questions Group: Surgery

 

Does the system capture the global date? ___________

 

Is the global date displayed during the time of entering an appointment for the patient? ___________

 

Is the global date displayed while vitals are being documented in the system? ___________

 

Is the global date displayed during the documentation of the clinical encounter? ___________

This is the best location for the global date to be displayed, preferably in red and yellow so the physician automatically knows the patient is in the global date while seeing the patient.

 

Is the global date documented in the patient demographics? ___________

 

Can prior surgeries be sorted by date? ___________

 

Can OP reports be attached to surgeries? ___________

 

 

EMR Questions Group: System Access

 

Does the system allow multiple users to access the same patient record in the demographics module? _______

 

Does the system allow multiple users to access the same patient record in the charges module? _____

 

Does the system allow multiple users to access the same patient record in the posting module? _____

 

Does the system allow multiple users to access the same patient record in the clinical encounter documentation module? ___________

 

Does the system allow multiple users to access the same patient record in the vitals module? _______