How Value, Interoperability Sway Hospital EHR Implementation Picks

Unity Health, a small multi-hospital health system in north central Arkansas, began the process of selecting a new EHR system five years ago.

The health system was looking for a long-term solution that would help increase care coordination across its acute, ambulatory, and emergency care settings, Phil Miller, assistant vice president and CIO of Unity, noted in an interview with EHRIntelligence.

To begin the search, Unity Health brought in a consulting group that identified vendors that could be a potential fit. From there, health system executives investigated different offerings and selected several options before bringing proposals to employees for feedback.

“There were very few groups within the hospital that were not involved with the purchasing decision,” Miller noted.

The health system brought vendors on site for two to three days each and scheduled time so that different groups of employees could come in and see product demonstrations.