Not the EMR vendor’s exit strategy. I mean your exit strategy from your EMR vendor.

Here’s a story from one of my readers (company names removed):

My former business, Vendor A, was stable and we had a customer base of over 600 sites. We thought we had a good linkup when Vendor B acquired us. They eventually raised prices, turned support time from hours to weeks, and started to lose customers. In my opinion they turned into a wrecking ball.

My advice on buying any software system is to always have a viable exit strategy.

Certainly for every story like this, there are a dozen others where someone has been with an EMR vendor for a very long time and they are happy. However, I think the caution to understand and have a plan for what you’ll do if the EMR vendor you select goes down hill. It’s also a VERY strong case for choosing an EMR pricing plan that takes into account this type of event. HINT: Writing a big fat check up front for EMR software might not be the brightest idea.