Best Practices In Vendor Selection & Contracting

Transcription

1 Choosing The Right EHR For You: Best Practices In Vendor Selection & Contracting Presented By: Joseph Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS Sponsored by ADVIX Presented On: February 26, 2015 at 2:00 PM EST York Street, Gettysburg, PA Phone: info@openminds.com

2 Executive Web Briefing Outline I. Steps For Vetting Vendors & Their Products & Services II. Contract Negotiation: Ensuring Best Value & Performance III. Quick Peek: Key Elements Of An EHR Implementation 2

3 Steps For Vetting Vendors & Their Products & Services 3

4 Key Vendor Evaluation Areas Functionality Customer support and service Implementation expertise Company stability Cost 4

5 Key Phases In EHR Vendor Selection & Contracting Phase 1 Organizational Assessment & EHR Vendor Research Phase 2 Preliminary EHR Vendor Selection Phase 3 Vetting Finalists & Making Final Selection Phase 4 Contract Negotiation & Implementation Preparation 5

6 Steps For Vetting Vendors & Their Products & Services: 6

7 Phase 1 Organizational Assessment & EHR Vendor Research 7

8 Organizational EHR Readiness Assessment Review organizational strategic plan and role of technology and EHR in achieving key strategic and operational objectives Assess staff readiness for an EHR Assess IT infrastructure readiness 8

9 Preliminary EHR Vendor Research One of the keys to successfully selecting a software application is knowing what functionality your business needs or from what software it would benefit Get an overview of what products and services are available Trade shows where vendors exhibit Requesting marketing and promotional materials from vendors Issuing a Request For Information (RFI) to gather basic information about functionality and services 9

10 Advantage Of Researching The goal in this step is not to evaluate the vendors, but rather to gain a better understanding of how technology could benefit your organization so that you are able to detail the functional specifications based on both current operations and needs, as well as what could be. 10

11 Determine If You Have Any Vendor Knock-Out Factors For this preliminary screening of vendors, we recommend using knock-out factors that are driven by your organization s business needs and management and purchasing choices. 11

12 Commonly Used Knock-Out Factors Whether the vendor has or requires a hosting or application service provider (ASP) option or SAAS (software as a service) option Lack of mission critical functionality Vendor experience with local market or specific service types The vendor s software technology platform and database Whether the vendor offers wireless or disconnected database technologies 12

13 Phase 2 Preliminary EHR Vendor Selection 13

14 Develop & Release A Competitive Request For Proposal (RFP) Develop a detailed listing of your organization s functional needs Incorporate any knock-out factors into it Exact functional specifications vary from organization to organization Common areas of functionality that you should review to determine which specifications are most important for meeting your needs 14

15 Sample RFP Sections Vendor overview Data conversion, customization and software upgrade processes Scanning, document management, and record release capabilities Compliance plans Technical information and infrastructure requirements EHR capability and implementation experience Mobile solutions Integration with primary care Training, implementation support, data conversion, software upgrades Software functionality Data import/export and software interface capabilities Customer reference contact information Customer support approach Report writing Experience in local market Cost 15

16 Vendor Overview Section to provide a basic understanding of the vendor s business Company Customers Services Key qualifications offered to meet your technology needs 16

17 Technical Information & Infrastructure Requirements Section should contain detailed questions from the technology staff about needs for: Hardware Software Network Telecommunications set-up needed or recommended Software platform/database (any near-term plans for upgrading?) Recommended staffing to support the application once implemented 17

18 Training, Implementation, Support, Data Conversion, & Software Upgrades In this section, describe your organization s typical approaches to: Training Implementation Support Data conversion Software upgrades Include the following detailed information in this section: Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff members you have in each of these operational areas Information on typical implementation services Include key tasks, timelines, and staff members involved both from your organization and the purchaser Help Desk Operations Include information on 24/7 availability, how calls are prioritized, response times, whether the caller has routine access to live staff, and all other information of interest to a customer Experience in converting data from other EHR systems Information about User Groups Information about how customers are involved in the software enhancement decision process Frequency of upgrades 18

19 Configurable Form & Field Capability In this section, ask the vendor to detail: How is the creation of electronic health record forms supported? What if other electronic data forms are needed? How can end-users (rather than the vendor) customize the electronic health record 19

20 Report Writing Functionality In this section, ask the vendor to describe: Report writing capability of its technology solutions A listing and description of standard reports Export capabilities Compatibility with other applications Ease of use, etc. 20

21 Desired Reporting Functionality A report-writer that is comprehensive and easy to use, allowing reporting on all data elements in the system Ability to write custom reports and write and use stored procedures Data-warehouse and data mining capabilities A data dictionary and supporting documentation An extensive library of reports, with commonly used queries and sorts, which can be easily customized as needed by the customer Ability to save and name report templates Ability to run reports in batches Ability to run reports or report batches at scheduled times Ability to create management information dashboards Ability to create graphs or charts 21

22 Additional Business Intelligence Tools In this section, ask the vendor to detail: Additional business intelligence tools for reporting executive and management metrics Partner(s) that provide these tools Functionality in detail 22

23 Scanning, Document Management & Record Release Capabilities In this section, ask the vendor to describe: Supports for scanning and managing documents that are created by other parties so that they can be included in a case or medical record Supports for releasing parts or all of the case or electronic records to other parties Both in paper and secure electronic formats 23

24 Software Interface & Data Exchange Capabilities In this section, ask the vendor to describe: Expertise in interfacing with common general ledger and human resource applications Helping provider organizations share data with other providers and stakeholders 24

25 Experience In Local Market In this section, ask the vendor about: Experience in the local market Support for your state s versions of electronic billing forms Interfacing with state systems 25

26 Overall Software Development Plans & Technical Direction In this section, ask the vendor to describe: Plans for continued software and business development Technical directions it is taking its products and services Include both short- and long-term roadmaps about product enhancements or other initiatives 26

27 Mobile Solutions Ability to securely connect its software to smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices, What functionality is available? 27

28 Disconnected Database Functionality Does software application have the functionality to support disconnected use of the system in instances where internet or wireless is unavailable or unreliable? If so, detail what functionality is available with the disconnected solution 28

29 Consumer/Family/Other Care Provider Portals What portal capabilities its software has for outside parties to securely access the system Detail what functionality is available with the various portals 29

30 Meaningful Use Certification & Compliance Plans What is the software s current status with regards to Meaningful Use as prescribed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)? What plans are in place for supporting requirements under Stage 2 and Stage 3? 30

31 Experience With Integration With Primary Care Describe experience with aiding behavioral health providers with integrating with primary care providers through data exchange 31

32 Cost Detail the cost for its software technology solution Clearly distinguish between one-time and on-going costs Be complete enough (along with the information from the Technical Requirements section) for you to develop a three-year budget for the proposed solution Provide the number of users to vendor (named as well as simultaneous) so vendor can respond with cost information 32

33 Software Functionality Ask the vendor whether its product supports the detailed list of functional specifications Included an Appendix as part of the RFP Vendors can indicate Yes/No to the functional specifications list and make comments 33

34 Customer Reference Contact Information Ask for list of at least 25 customer contacts Needed to evaluate vendor on customer service Ask vendor to highlight customers similar to your organization or will reflect satisfaction with the vendor 34

35 Additional Information Include an optional section where vendors have an opportunity to share any other information they feel would be helpful to you in the selection process 35

36 Appendices I. Functional specification checklist II. Pricing template (excel spreadsheet) III. Customer reference information form Give the vendors 30 days to respond to the RFP. 36

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40 Conduct Preliminary Vendor Screening From RFP Responses Receive all responses from software vendors Develop preliminary 5-year budget for each vendor (Include any required technology infrastructure upgrades and changes in staffing) so that you can begin to compare cost Score vendors on how well they meet your functional needs 40

41 Screening From RFP Responses Determine if any of the knockout factors apply Select vendors to move to software demonstration phase Average is inviting 6-10 vendors for half-day software demonstrations 41

42 Conduct Software Demonstrations & Select Finalists Develop Likert scoring tool for your staff to use during the software demonstrations Narrow vendors to 2-3 finalists, based upon both functionality and userfriendliness In most instances, organizations come to a very quick consensus about finalists at this point in the process Scoring should be based on core areas of functionality from RFP 42

43 Phase 3 Vetting Finalists & Making Final Selection 43

44 A Structured Approach To Final EHR Demonstrations One- or two-day software demonstrations by your 2-3 vendor finalists Structured topics for the demonstrations with your staff subject area experts attending and scoring the vendors 44

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47 Web-Based Technical Reviews Have your technical staff do a web-based technical review of the 2 finalists Determine system configurability Reporting flexibility Any other technical factors deemed important by your team 47

48 Additional Vetting Of Vendor Finalists Reference checks Current customer site visits CEO and management team interviews Financial due diligence 48

49 Phase 4 Contract Negotiation & Implementation Preparation 49

50 Contracting Select the best system available to meet your needs Have the contract reviewed by your attorney before changes and requests are presented to the vendor Finalize contract and begin implementation Some purchasers do this with the 2 finalists 50

51 Key Contract Areas To Review I. Contract term and termination clauses II. Ensuring that all agreed upon functional specifications are included III. Warranties & limitations IV. Support and implementation details V. Software escrow VI. Costs and cost increases VII. Payment terms and timelines 51

52 Contract Negotiation Tips Present all major and minor contract changes requests along with any pricing changes in a single memo Determine must-have versus desired changes Keep in mind that you are building a long-term relationship If both parties have clear, fair, and reasonable requests, the negotiation usually goes very quickly 52

53 Quick Peek: Key Elements Of An EHR Implementation 53

54 EHR Implementation Routine Elements Vendor training and implementation Hardware Data conversion Complex Elements Workflows Clinical content System set-up Billing testing Reports Interfaces Meaningful use Mobile system use planning System Freeze & Final Preparation Final workflow testing Training materials and execution Final go-live preparation Expanding & Leveraging the EHR Implementation Implementing more features Leveraging data through business intelligence Additional clinical and analytic use 54

55 More About Advix 55

56 The Industry Best Value Designed by behavioral health professionals Comprehensive practice management, EHR, and Billing system For outpatient, residential, case management, and housing For medication assisted treatment, including methadone dispensing World class customer service 56

57 Our company 20 year old, mission driven organization Behavioral health leadership Committed to long term partnerships Experts in change management and implementation 57

58 IV. Questions & Discussion 58

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60 Creating solutions. Expanding opportunities. Creating Solutions. Expanding Opportunities. OPEN MINDS is the premier market intelligence and management consulting firm specializing in the mental health field and the sectors of the health and health and human service industry serving individuals with chronic conditions and complex support needs. Our mission is to provide the provider and payer organizations in this market as well as the technology, pharmaceutical, and biotech firms supporting them with the market and management knowledge needed to improve their organizational efficiency and effectiveness. 25+ years of experience tracking and analyzing the market trends, spending data, reimbursement data, stakeholders, and innovations shaping the field. 60

61 The market intelligence to navigate. The management expertise to succeed York Street, Gettysburg, PA Phone: info@openminds.com 61