Physician Practice Self-Assessment Electronic Health Record Readiness Questionnaire

This assessment is meant to be completed by a physician/s in the practice. It will provide you with an overview of your practices’ readiness to successfully adopt an electronic health record (EHR). Please read and honestly respond to the following questions by checking whether you ‘Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree or Strongly Disagree’ with each statement. When you are done, total each column and read the outcome interpretation section at the end of this document. As you read the questions, think very carefully about what it will mean to your practice to replace manual, paper medical records in your practice with a paperless, electronic health record system.

Business Goals

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
The implementation of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) has been identified as critical to achieving specific business goals in this practice.
We have established written goals and measurable objectives about EHR implementation.
We understand and are ready to manage the potentially negative impact, implementing an EHR can have, on practice productivity in the short-term.
We understand EHRs and the long term business benefits it can bring to our practice.
We understand that many insurance companies including Medicare value EHRs, and may be paying us a premium for using it.
We routinely engage in chart audits and look for ways to manage information more effectively in the practice.

Commitment/Sponsorship

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We understand the financial and time commitment involved in EHR implementation and are willing and able to make the investment.
We are willing to free up staff resources needed to implement an EHR.
We have identified a specific person in our practice to serve as the administrative lead on the EHR project.
We have identified a lead physician in our practice to serve as the representative of the other physicians and as the clinical lead on the EHR project.
Every employee in this practice understands what an EHR is and how it can benefit both the practice and it’s patients in the long run.
Every employee in this practice understands how the day to day work will change with an electronic vs. a paper medical record.
In general there are no employees in this practice whose attitude would create a stumbling block toward a successful implementation of an EHR.
This practice is prepared to add or upgrade hardware, as required, to make the EHR work.

Communication/Perception

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Everyone in this practice has a clear understanding of how an EHR will affect our physicians, employees and patients.
All of the clinical staff in this practice has had an opportunity to ask questions regarding the EHR initiative.
All of the clinical staff in this practice understands the benefits of an EHR and are enthusiastic about using the new system.
Many employees in this practice representing both clinical and administrative activities have been/will be included as part of the project team from the start of the project.
All of the clinical staff in this practice understands their role in making the EHR initiative a success.

Patient Orientation

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
A strong patient focus permeates every part of this practice.
There is a common and effective set of terminology used within the practice to describe the type and status of a patient.
Methods for enhancing patient care are routinely identified and implemented.
We frequently change the way we do things, when we see that it creates less than optimal patient care and satisfaction, even if it is more inconvenient for us.
We see input from patients about how we can do things better and create a better experience for them.
EHR design will be driven by what is important to patient care and patient satisfaction.

Workflow and Processes

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We understand that our workflow processes and procedures can impact our productivity, efficiency and patient satisfaction.
Our current workflow has been identified and documented.
The organization has identified and prioritized areas where and how EHR could be best applied.
Ways in which EHR will improve current workflow and processes have been identified.
The clinical staff in the practice has a clear understanding of how their work impacts the front and back office operations in the practice.
The clinical process and procedures are generally standardized among clinical staff within the practice and are understood by front and back office personnel.

Technology Evaluation

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We have a clear understanding of how we will evaluate EHR vendors.
We understand EHRs well enough to be able to adequately evaluate whether or not any given vendor can best meet our EHR needs.
We have a clear plan about how to select the best EHR vendor for our practice.
We understand what interoperability means and are prepared to work with other providers such as hospitals or other group practices to achieve critical data interoperability.
We know what CCHIT is and have narrowed our vendor search to only CCHIT certified vendors.
We have an adequate understanding of EHRs to ensure we could evaluate one vendor vs. another.
As a practice, we are either able to or, will hire someone to help us analyze our technology infrastructure to ensure it is adequate for an EHR.
In general our practice is technology savvy or we are committed to obtaining the understanding we need to make informed decisions about hardware and software.
We have done our homework and feel we know enough about EHR Vendors and the features of several EHRs in order to make an informed selection.
We have established service levels that must be met by the EHR system used to deliver patient care.

Data Management

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Everyone in the practice, recognizes the importance of patient data from various systems being integrated to create a complete patient record.
We currently obtain some patient clinical data in electronic form.
We currently permanently store some patient data in electronic form.
We generally have a comfort level with electronically transmitted patient data in our practice.
Data ownership issues and “turf wars” within the practice have been addressed and rectified.
It has been/will be decided and documented which data from which systems will need to integrate with our EHR solution.
We hold to the highest security standard possible and reasonable within our practice, and deal with data security issues appropriately.
Data accuracy and integrity procedures have been addressed and rectified.

Measurement

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
The EHR initiative is/will be justified on a return on investment (ROI) basis.
A pilot with established success/failure measurement criteria will be run prior to full implementation, to assess rollout readiness.
Ongoing measurement systems have been/will be developed to validate that the rollout has met project goals.

Training/Support

Questions	Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
A budget is/will be in place to provide end-user training.
Training for all user groups has been/will be scheduled well in advance of the final rollout.
Training includes reference materials that can be used before, during, and after training.
A budget is/will be in place to provide reasonable coverage for EHR support services.
Staff is/will be in place to implement, provide support for, and maintain the new EHR system.