Your peers may be your best resource during the EHR selection process. They can give you insight into how they prepared for, selected, and ultimately used their EHR. You can adopt what they did right and learn from any missteps. These peers can also give you unbiased or “rightly” biased opinions and experiences with specific vendors and products.
The only caveat is to make sure you find peers who really are like you. You are looking for physicians who have a similarly sized practice. The issues of small practices and large practices are very different. Also make sure they had a similar experience or understanding of information technology when they started. (Of course, they are going to have more experience now that they have implemented an EHR.)
Find Peers Like You
Find a Doctor Like Me in a Practice Like Mine (Members Only)
-- This interactive tool allows you to search for doctors who currently use EHR systems. You may search by product, state, and practice size. All physicians in this tool have agreed to be contacted for advice and feedback for those seeking to implement EHRs.
AAFP Electronic Medical Record Discussion List (Members Only)
-- Hundreds of family physicians who have an EHR or are looking for one participate in this list. This link will take you to the AAFP Web site; you will need your member ID to log-in (unless you are already logged in). Click the subscribe button beneath "Electronic Medical Record." You will receive an introductory e-mail at the account you have on file with AAFP. The discussion list is moderated by CHiT staff.