Chandresh Shah

Best EHR System: None of the Above

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  • Who is the Best Republican Candidate?
  • Who is the Best Democratic Candidate?
  • Hilary Clinton versus Donald Trump?
  • Athena versus Allscripts?
  • eClinicalworks versus Nextgen?
  • Free Practice Fusion versus Paid (write a name) EHR?
  • None of the Above

Seth Godin, the famous marketer wrote a blog about ‘None of the Above‘. 

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In a world where nuance, uncertainty and shades of grey are ever more common, becoming comfortable with ambiguity is one of the most valuable skills you can acquire.

If you view your job as taking multiple choice tests, you will never be producing as much value as you are capable of.

Make the agenda, invent the possible paths. Life is an essay, not a Scantron machine.

— Seth Godin

I’m always asked – ‘You’ve been in this industry for so long, you know the EHR systems around, which is the best one?’ 

I talked with a very knowledgeable MD yesterday for over 2 hours, discussing EHR. He was not a novice, he has been using EHR technology since 2000. Yet, he despises EHR systems. Everything we have read about it, he says, is true.

  • EHR has killed the ‘Narrative’
  • EHR software makes providers unproductive
  • EHR systems are a behemoth that does not allow providers focus on patients, and so on…

So why then does he continue working with EHR systems? CMS pressure? I don’t think so because he is not the kind of guy that responds to pressure. 

The answer is very clear – he wants to make his ‘own agenda and invent his own possibility‘. Look at EHR as a process, system and path rather than an impediment to your path because the path has changed, paradigm has shifted and there is no denying it. You may live in the past hoping you will get a better EHR system that will mold and adapt to your way of doing things; that is not happening not matter what vendors tell you.

So, the answer will be None of the Above if you are stuck with the old narrative. The answer will be – give me anything I will make it work – I set my agenda!