Tips for Choosing the Right EHR Vendor for Your Organization in 2025

Electronic health record (EHR) systems come with plenty of benefits for the healthcare organization that’s using this technology. EHR applications allow them to share and receive crucial information across healthcare organizations, which facilitates their ability to provide safe, high-quality, well-coordinated patient care.

EHR systems allow medical professionals to make more effective diagnoses, reducing errors. Communication is enhanced; coding and billing are streamlined; and comprehensive documentation is created. All of this is accomplished in convenient ways with improved security. So, in short, EHR systems allow healthcare organizations to enhance patient care while streamlining financial functions to meet business goals.

How, though, do you know which EHR vendor is right for your needs? Here’s guidance with a focus on six of the most in-demand systems today.

Epic EHR System

In general, Epic EHR is used by large hospitals and other healthcare systems in the United States. Known for its versatility and scalability, bigger healthcare systems often appreciate its ability to manage large-scale and complex requirements, provide specialty module support, and offer high adaptability and interoperability standards.

More specifically, it’s used in community hospitals, children’s healthcare organizations, academic medical centers, hospice facilities, rehab centers, dental clinics, mental health facilities, retail clinics, and more. More than 325 million patients have medical records in Epic with many of them using MyChart to access their medical information, empowering themselves by taking control of aspects of their own healthcare.

Epic stays at the cutting edge of technology with 35 percent of its expenses going towards research and development. This application is also known for its robust compliance features to help healthcare organizations to seamlessly adhere to healthcare regulations. Meanwhile, their data security measures, which include encryption and audit trails, provide vigorous patient data protection.

Epic is a robust EHR system with modules in these areas:

• Clinical
• Patient access
• Revenue cycle
• Claims
• Analytics
• Warehousing
• Mobile and third-party
• Specialties and ancillaries

Here are the Epic modules that we support—and here is information about three of their newer modules: Cheers, Garden, and Best Care for My Patient.

Best in KLAS 2024 Awards won by Epic include the following:

• Clinical Communications (Acute)
• IV Workflow Management
• Medication Inventory Management
• Ambulatory EHR (Health System Owned)
• Ambulatory EHR (Over 75 Physicians, Independent)
• Homecare: Home Health (Health System Owned)
• Practice Management (Health System Owned)
• Practice Management (Over 75 Physicians, Independent)
• Patient Accounting and Patient Management (Large: Over 400 Beds)
• Patient Accounting and Patient Management (Medium: 151-400 Beds)
• EHR-Centric Virtual Care Platforms
• Patient Portal: My Chart
• Oncology: Epic Beacon
• Acute Care EHR (Large: Over 400 Beds)
• Acute Care EHR (Medium: 151-400 Beds)

Oracle Cerner EHR System

The Oracle Cerner EHR system is also a robust, in-demand system. Clients are typically specialty medical practices, long-term care facilities, urgent care centers, laboratories, group clinics, and retail pharmacies as well as hospitals. Nearly 60 percent of acute healthcare facilities in our country use either Cerner or Epic for their EHR solution.

The reasons organizations choose Cerner include its streamlined workflow capabilities; efficient, user-friendly dashboard; and HIPAA compliance features. Another key benefit is its interoperability and efficient data exchange, both within the healthcare system itself and with external systems. Medical professionals can seamlessly find key information, and patient records can be securely and conveniently found while on the go by using mobile devices. To continue to ensure this ease of use, Cerner employs hundreds of clinicians to collaborate on design and usage.

Here are the Cerner modules we support.

Allscripts EHR System

Allscripts/Altera EHR is used by hospitals, physician offices, and other healthcare facilities, including ambulatory clinics, emergency rooms, lab systems, surgical centers, and so forth. The platform is specifically designed for small to midsize healthcare organizations. The goal of Allscripts is to enhance patient care while also streamlining healthcare operations and boosting revenue.

The benefits of this system include how, despite its robustness, users can typically become proficient in its usage in a fairly short time. The software also contains several divisions that allow it to be used for a range of medical practice sizes. Allscripts uses an open architecture structure, which means that the EHR can be smoothly integrated with third-party applications. If a healthcare system wants to build customized solutions for its facilities, the open architecture facilitates this process.

Here are the Allscripts modules that we support.

MEDITECH EHR System

MEDITECH EHR is used by medical professionals in a wide range of hospital sizes. In 2024, it was named Best in KLAS in two key areas: Patient Accounting and Patient Management (Small: 1-150 Beds) and Acute Care EHR (Small: 1-150 Beds).

MEDITECH provides support for advanced clinical decision-making with a focus on smaller hospitals as well as on mid-sized organizations that require features for robust clinical and financial reporting. MEDITECH also provides ambulatory care applications for large physician practices, and users note how they appreciate its intuitive design and ease of customization. Focus areas of MEDITECH include fiscal responsibility; interoperability; nurse and specialty care; patient experience; physician efficiency; population health; and quality outcomes.

These are the MEDITECH modules we support in these areas of use: financial, administrative, clinical, continuing care, and operational/decision support.

NextGen EHR System

NextGen EHR is a comprehensive solution that’s designed for specialty medical practices, smaller practices, and ambulatory care facilities of all sizes. The application combines clinical and financial workflows and is scalable to size, thanks to its customizable user interface and intuitive navigation. With 100,000 providers and more than one million patients on the system, users appreciate how the EHR application allows them to coordinate patient care while managing population health requirements, the merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS), and more.

NextGen also uses the open architecture that allows for third-party adaptability and customized solutions. In 2024, the company won a Best in KLAS 2024 Award for Behavioral Health because of its robust NextGen Healthcare Behavioral Health Suite.

These are the NextGen modules we support.

Greenway Intergy System

Greenway Health offers the Greenway Intergy system that provides a specialty focus on ambulatory healthcare practices, featuring easy-to-use dashboards and tools for patient engagement and streamlined communications. This EHR system is typically best for practices that want one platform that balances clinical and financial management. This system can serve the needs of specialty practices ranging from cardiology to neurology, pediatrics, and more.

Benefits of this system include its interoperability with data moving between the EHR and other applications through its open platform technology; a single network infrastructure for centralized performance; and the use of one external connection in this client-focused platform to benefit multiple practices. For many Greenway Intergy clients, the seamless interoperability is what allows the practices to remain independent yet connected to other systems. Robust compliance tools facilitate value-based care.

Practices can enhance revenue through this system that reduces technology costs, lifts administrative burdens, creates automated reporting that meets compliance requirements, and provides, overall, enhanced efficiencies. Here is more information about how our Greenway consulting experts can assist with the Intergy EHR system.

EHR Implementation, Optimization and More

Although many healthcare organizations recognize that they need to implement and optimize an EHR system, there’s a key reason why some aren’t moving forward: lack of specialized IT talent.

In September 2021, Gartner, Inc. noted that a talent shortage is the most significant barrier (64%) to implementation. By comparing survey results from just a year prior, when 4% of IT executives gave that answer, it’s clear how much a lack of EHR consulting talent is limiting implementation.

More recently, in 2024, the International Data Corporation surveyed North American IT leaders with more than two-thirds of them saying that a lack of skilled IT talent has caused “missed revenue growth objectives, quality problems, and a decline in customer satisfaction.” The situation is not expected to improve. In fact, they found, by 2026, more than 90 percent of organizations around the world will be negatively impacted by the IT skills shortage with $5.5 trillion anticipated in losses because of “product delays, impaired competitiveness, and loss of business.”

To get the most out of any other of these systems, it’s crucial to choose the right EHR consulting company. Choosing HealthTECH Resources as your EMR/EHR consulting company can solve the problem. We have a deep, wide network of IT professionals who are available as consultants, contract-to-hire professionals, and permanent placements. HealthTECH can match you with the best experts for your needs and often have them on your site within 48 hours.

Besides EHR implementation, integration, and optimization professionals, experts in our network can also help with selecting the right EHR vendor.

Vendor Selection Process

The first step in the process of implementing and using a new EHR system is to select the one that most closely dovetails with your needs in the first place—and our EHR consulting firm can help you to do exactly that. Because we possess a deep understanding of the six in-demand applications described above (and more), we can help guide you toward the right selection for your healthcare organization.

Members of our expert team will help you to analyze your needs—financial, clinical, specialty support, number and locations of facilities, and so forth—and identify the features that you need in your application. Our EHR consultant company can then leverage this intelligence to create a short list of applications for your healthcare organization to consider. We’ll also look at your other technologies to determine how well the new software will integrate into your overall system.

Besides reviewing applications that meet your needs with the appropriate features that can fit well within your existing technology, factors that also matter in the decision-making process include its cost and how intuitive it is to use. EHR systems can have a range of costs, including licensing fees, maintenance fees, upgrading fees, and so forth—and it’s crucial to select one that meshes with your organization’s budget. User-friendliness is also key, so it’s vital to review how well applications can be customized for your healthcare organization’s workflows.

Interoperability is important so that your facilities can efficiently exchange patient data—and so is cybersecurity to protect this data in fully compliant ways. Yet another is the vendor’s reputation with our EHR consulting firm only recommending ones with a quality reputation.

Once the EHR selection process is completed, HealthTECH Resources has a wide range of experienced EHR consultants with specialized knowledge and skill sets to handle the entire spectrum of EHR-related IT needs.

Services Offered by Our EHR Consulting Company

These services include:

• Implementation, configuration, integration, optimization, and upgrades: Our EHR consultants will dovetail your application of choice to fit your processes, procedures, and workflows, crafting workarounds, as needed. When the time comes for an upgrade, the EHR consultants will perform at the same high level to ensure ongoing compatibility and usability.
• Data migration: Professionals from our EHR consulting company’s network will examine data integrity, cleaning, archiving, and migrating the data in secure and optimal ways.
• Training, adoption, and process documentation: EHR consultants with specialized knowledge will craft engaging, interactive training programs for the range of end user roles, creating process documentation and helping to increase user adoption.
• Overall project management and advisory services: Experts from our EHR consulting firm can skillfully oversee the entire project, keeping it within timelines and your budget. EHR consultants possess the knowledge, too, to provide the full spectrum of advisory services.
• Go-live and post go-live support: Even after the application goes live, our EHR consulting company continues to provide professional support, filling in staffing gaps at your healthcare organization.
• Legacy support: Our network of professionals has the expertise to maintain legacy systems such as Amysis and McKesson.

For the most successful project possible, it’s important to have the right professional EHR consultants. This involves conducting an analysis of your in-house IT team; their specialties; bandwidth; and any other relevant factors. The goal is to look for any gaps in skills sets or bandwidth—and then to optimally fill in those gaps. Even healthcare organizations that don’t have skills gaps in other IT functions often find them with an EHR implementation project.

Our expert leadership can help you with the analysis if that’s your preference.

Choose HealthTECH Resources as Your EHR Consulting Company

To right-size your EHR team with professionals of unsurpassed quality, please contact us online or call (602) 806-8949. Our boutique-style agency has been providing healthcare IT staff augmentation services for more than 20 years now, and we’re the fastest, most knowledgeable, and reliable staff supplementation firm in the industry. We offer second-to-none professional guidance in selecting the right EHR application for your healthcare organization along with services across the entire EHR implementation, integration, and optimization spectrum, go-live and post-live support, and much more.