EHR software and EMR systems are staples across medical practices of all sizes. The market is overflowing with options, making selecting the right EMR or EHR vendor challenging. Writing an EHR RFP (request for proposal) is a necessary step that provides information about you and your practice to prospective vendors while giving you insight into their products.

Get our EHR/EMR Software Requirements Template

Though an EMR or EHR solution performs a variety of functions, you want one that at least complies with the Medicaid EHR incentive program while improving your operations and patient care. Selecting a system is an important decision that affects the efficiency and viability of your practice, so choose carefully.

Let’s take a look at how to write an EHR RFP.

Table of Contents

• Getting started
• Start the Request for Information (RFI)
• Internally Compile and Prioritize Requirements
• Create and Send the RFP
• Evaluate Responses
• Request for Quotation (RFQ)
• Post-Evaluation
• A Recap

Getting Started

Using the following steps, you can craft an EHR RFP that helps you select the best-fit EHR system for your organization. Regardless of the type of EHR software you’re selecting, whether it’s an ambulatory or inpatient EHR, open-source. or some other niche technology, these EHR RFP steps are all applicable.

Start the Request for Information (RFI)

When procuring new software, many companies choose to send out an RFI before preparing an EHR RFP. An RFI is an overview of your requirements that gives vendors a chance to share their software’s benefits, support and services with management and other decision makers. Since it’s early on in the process, it’s just a getting-to-know-you phase.

After answering these questions, send out the first initial contacts for your RFI and build a pool of potential vendors. The RFI should ask for details such as the company’s history, its goals, ownership structure and more. After that, ask more technical questions.

You should also ask about the product’s history, core offerings and version history. Just a reminder, RFI responses will be vague because the important details come in at the RFP stage.

Make sure the RFI you send to vendors is specific; otherwise, there may be uncertainty looming over your selection process. Try to focus your RFI to help vendors understand your software requirements.

Here are a few questions that you can answer to assess your needs as a business and identify the features you and your teams want:

• What kind of data will the practice collect?
• Which departments will use this software? Who will be the beneficiaries of the new tools?
• What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the new EHR or EMR system?
• Will the software implementation be cloud-based, SaaS or on-premise?
• Do you need to bring a clinician aboard to help you understand the software’s specifications?

Responding to an EMR RFP is a longer, more detailed process. Using an RFI is a better way to narrow down the pool of companies whose offerings match your practice’s requirements. The shortlisting process starts later after the vendors reply to the RFI.

We suggest you use this EHR and EMR software requirements template to choose and prioritize your EHR and EMR software requirements. Make sure you include a list of need-to-have and good-to-have features, which will help you assign scores to the products.

Get our EHR/EMR Software Requirements Template

Internally Compile and Prioritize Requirements

As RFI responses flow in, compile your organizational requirements in a formal document. Your requirements will be a combination of the overall needs of your business and its various departments.

These requirements should include a summary of costs for things like implementation, training and support. Consider interoperability and customization in your choices as well.

It’s important to look at your practice critically and answer the following questions:

• Where will you deploy your software?
• How will it be utilized?
• Does it integrate with your existing software ecosystem?
• How do you hope the EHR or EMR will benefit your practice?
• How will the software’s benefits meet your your objectives?

Based on the RFI, select vendors who match the features, support and services you require. Then, send your RFP to your shortlisted options.

The RFP document will share your goals and briefly introduce your requirements. You should list which clinical data systems you already have in place and how much customization you’ll need.

Your data and patient security are extremely important, so make sure to focus on your requirements in this area. Security is especially vital for hospitals since they store large volumes of sensitive patient data. System scalability and functionality are also key requirements that belong in your EHR RFP.

Your practice will ideally continue to grow, and you want to ensure the vendor you select has a suite that can handle that growth. You should involve your internal stakeholders in prioritizing your electronic health records software requirements; getting everyone on the same page can help save you money and headaches down the road.

Identify your requirements using our Requirements Hub.

You should involve your internal stakeholders in prioritizing your electronic health records software requirements, getting everyone on the same page can help save you money and headaches down the road.

Create and Send the RFP

After defining and prioritizing your specific EHR solution requirements, integrate them into the EHR RFP. The RFP asks for more detail than the RFI does. It’s good to ask for product demos and request details of previous experiences and contact lists related to the vendor.

The RFP ensures vendors know exactly what you need and how to respond to your detailed requirements with precisely drawn-up proposals. An RFP should include a timeline showing important deadlines for various vendor actions; make sure your RFP is organized and looks professional. If need be, look up some RFP examples or use an RFP template to get an idea of what your deliverable is.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to include a list of questions for your IT department. These technical questions are the most important questions you can ask. Since your IT department is aware of the company soliciting a new EHR and the desired features, it will be able to remove those vendors that are not compatible with your needs or your own systems.

That way, you are not wasting your time or becoming lost in the glitz and glam of new software, nor is the vendor wasting their time pursuing you.

The next step is to send the RFP out to the vendors you selected in the RFI process. Keep your EHR guidelines you identified earlier — this will help you understand the replies as they relate to the guidelines you set up.

Keep these points about the vendor’s EHR or EMR solutions in mind:

• Dashboards and their compatibility with your present practice management solution.
• Reporting capabilities and formats.
• What the software’s capabilities are.
• How easy it is to scale.
• Other important features such as interoperability and billing.

Also, include as much information as possible about your organization. The more you share about your company in the RFP, the more your prospective vendors will be able to help you and the easier it will be for you to make a decision.

Now that your EHR requirements have been imported into an EHR RFP template, select a shortlist of EHR systems, and look for certifications such as HIPAA, Meaningful Use Stage 1 & 2 and MACRA.

Evaluate vendors based on their features and support using our Requirements Hub

Qualities to look for when shortlisting further should include your overall impressions of their professionalism. Look for things like timeliness of response, transparency during initial contact and the support they offer. Also, be sure to check references and reviews to ensure they deliver the services they claim to.

The next step is to write a vendor proposal. The vendors who respond will share their software solution and how they can implement it. Submit the RFP to your selected vendors. Remember, if you’re lost, an RFP management tool to submit your requirements makes it easier for vendors to reply.

After all, the solution should match your specific needs and be flexible enough to adjust to your future growth.

Automate RFI/RFP Creation with the Decision Platform

Evaluate Responses

Since you will be dealing with multiple vendor responses to your RFP, the evaluation process can be lengthy. This process is time-consuming, and sadly, you can’t automate it. Choosing a vendor requires a lot of critical thinking and analysis with multiple exchanges of information. Luckily, there’s software that speeds up this process.

At this stage, internal stakeholders involved in drawing up your healthcare practice’s requirements should come together to evaluate EMR RFP responses. Use a standardized matrix to compare vendors since it allows your team to weigh certain requirement criteria and aggregate scores.

The matrix should include EHR usability characteristics and functions such as clinical tasking and messaging, health record management, decision support, laboratory and results management, prescriptions and charting. Also, ensure EHR vendors offer software that guarantees your practice complies with meaningful use principles.

Send and evaluate vendor responses from the dashboard.

Before selecting finalists for further evaluation, review the vendor applications to make sure you have all the necessary information, and submit any final requests for additional data needed to help you decide. You don’t want to pass on a potentially excellent candidate just because you don’t have sufficient data.

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

A request for quotation (RFQ) is similar to a response that says, “Thanks for sharing all the details. Now, tell me what it costs with all the bells and whistles.” An RFQ isn’t too different from an RFP; it goes to a small list of five or six potential vendors from your RFI phase.

RFQs spell out the costs, implementation timeline and follow-up support. They are specific and explain your precise needs, wants and other specifications. Your practice’s implementation plans and specific operational needs will be discussed here. Pay special attention to the budgets you decided on earlier and see if the cost of implementation is within those specifications.

Once the RFQ is sent to the vendors, they will return with a price estimate, implementation plan and timeline. They might also come back with the length of their contract, support clauses and training timelines. For medical practices working with limited budgets and timeframes, this stage is very important for discovering the true price of EHR and EMR implementation.

Post-Evaluation

Let your evaluation team take on-site visits, along with finalist vendors, to organizations that use relevant software and match the size and configuration of your practice. You may also request that vendors provideLet your evaluation team conduct on-site visits to organizations that use relevant software and match the size and configuration of your practice. You may also request that vendors provide a proof of concept to ensure their systems suit your organization. Once you select a vendor, you’ll negotiate a contract and definitive pricing, then finally execute the agreed-upon contract.

Get our EHR/EMR Software Requirements Template

A Recap

An RFI is generally a very broad assessment. This stage is about exchanging information between yourself and the vendor. Formulating a list of needs and wants is important at this stage as it makes it easier to align vendors’ offerings to your needs.

You can think of this stage as a job interview — you are meeting and evaluating many candidates in a short period of time and selecting the ones that match your interests and budget.

The RFP, on the other hand, is a lengthy and tedious stage in which you ask more precise questions to the selected vendors. After narrowing the number of vendors down to three or five, send your RFQ and then finalize one that is right for you. Iron out last-minute issues that come up (there shouldn’t be many at this stage), and if you are still looking for a vendor, check out our EHR and EMR comparison reports.

When choosing health information technology, be it an EHR, EMR or a medical practice management system, SelectHub offers a formalized request for proposal process, including expertise and support to help you select the right vendor for your practice.

Are you facing any challenges in the process of writing an RFP to finalize an EHR or EMR implementation? If so, let us know in the comments below!