Reports-Reports are critical to evaluating your practice, and the EHR software should provide a plethora of options that can be tailored to your particular requirements. The report options should include filters to sort and specify report information by any user-defined criteria, and be available for export to multiple formats.

Training and Support

While the concept of moving to, or switching from, a software system to a new software system may seem daunting, that need not be the case. It's critical to review the support and training provided by those software companies under consideration. One should expect a dedicated account liaison—at the very least—that can answer your questions, collaborate with you on best practices, and stay in contact with your team to ensure that your practice runs smoothly during and long after the transition.

Additionally, look to see the kind of online user support communities that exist where chiropractic practices can interact and help each other with any questions or issues that may be encountered while adapting to the new system.

Cost Versus Investment

Cost, as they say, is simply price without value. And in regards to the costs associated with integrating EHR software in your practice, and just as in most cases, you get what you pay for—and there is quite a range out there, from a few hundred a month to several thousands of dollars. There are systems that promise ";full" EHR solutions for a monthly fee, but while the entry costs are low and attractive from a budgeting standpoint, the question of reliability becomes a critical factor. Considering that EHR software is the backbone of the operations and billing of your practice, is finding the cheapest solution the best idea?

An investment, on the other hand, is where a price is paid in exchange for value. In the case of an EHR system, that value should be found in one all-encompassing result: more time. Automation and mobility are critical factors when assessing the true value of an investment in any EHR system as they give the doctor more time to see more patients while improving patient care. This directly impacts the health and prosperity of the practice and gives peace of mind to the doctor knowing his or her data is theirs, secure, and immediately available to them.

The Cloud: Whose data is it anyways?

Cloud computing has become the new buzzword in many industries, and chiropractic is no exception. The idea of not having to worry about keeping your hardware up to date or installing new software every time a new version comes out is certainly attractive—not to mention having all your chiropractic documentation available to you at any time with the simple click of a button.

However, there are some downsides to using cloud computing too, which is why many doctors are choosing to use a private server for their EHR needs. Late last year, for example, Redpine Software suddenly announced it was closing its doors and unable to provide its cloud-based billing services moving forward, leaving many chiropractors in a dire situation. One would imagine that, in the end, the system ";cost" the practices much more than their monthly payment.

Further, when considering cloud-based software, one must look at the true cost associated with downtime, or even ";slow time," where heavy Internet traffic slows down the practice's ability to upload and download files. It can be very frustrating indeed when you need to access a patient's records or upload billing files and are stuck with a slow connection. With a client-server EHR system, you enjoy a private network that can be accessed without having to compete with other users for bandwidth.

Lastly, paying monthly over time adds up to thousands and thousands of dollars, and practices end up paying much more for their EHR system than they certainly would have, had they invested in a system that provides true ownership of their data and software.

The Certification Factor

Simply put, integrating a complete, certified EHR practice management system into a practice is the bridge to the efficiency that not only improves patient care, but positions your practice for eligibility for the ARRA Stimulus funds. And further, regardless of your intent to claim your share of the funds, the certification itself speaks volumes as to each individual software company's commitment to the chiropractic profession.

The chiropractic industry is better served by the improved standards being set with certification: