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Tip: Include desired EHR functional specifications when requesting proposal

EHR Connection, September 22, 2008

Organizations in the process of selecting and implementing an EHR should incorporate their desired functional specifications into a request for proposal (RFP) and ask vendors to submit the type best suited to their needs.
 
Some organizations prefer a highly structured RFP that incorporates a scoring process; others prefer one that is more narrative or that requires vendors to respond to specific scenarios.
 
A sample outline of the contents of an RFP follows:
  • Introduction and general instructions for response
  • Background information (description of buyer environment, including systems, volume and staffing)
  • Vendor profile (including company and contact information, company and product history, future plans, client references, and partnerships)
  • Functional requirements (specific to organizational needs based on workflow analysis and process mapping)
  • Technical requirements (including infrastructure, interfaces)
  • Implementation (identifies expected time frame and requests vendor approach)
  • Training and documentation (requests documentation of certifications and sample implementation plans)
  • Contractual considerations (requests sample contract, service-level agreements)
  • Cost presentation (includes explicit instructions for format and level of detail, including directive to submit apart from aforementioned components) 

This tip is from The No-Hassle Guide to EHR Implementation published by HCPro, Inc.

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