“Learn from the experiences of others, but think for yourself” would be excellent advice on this topic. Others can share their experiences about the software and services received from their vendor choices, but your best choice will come from doing a careful look at your own practice, and – independent of any vendor – do an honest assessment of exactly what it is about your status quo that you want to change. Call these your ‘goals’ or motives to change, write them down, and require your vendor to demo and discuss their options in the context of your practice and your goals. For example, give your vendor clinical scenarios to document that reflect your patient mix, instead of letting them show you the ones that they want to document. When reviewing your options, stay focused on your ‘bread and butter’ - the most common clinical scenarios and workflows that your therapists deal with all day, every day - and don't let the vendor distract you with bells and whistles that may look good but have little impact on your daily work.

Other considerations:

• The vendor’s track record and longevity within the industry; Will they still be around in a couple of years?
• The vendor’s installed base; How well are they doing in terms of market acceptance compared to other vendors?
• Best of Breed or Single Source solution; With best of breed, you optimize your independent choices for scheduling, documentation, and billing, then rely on the vendors to provide integration. This usually means you receive the best functionality in each area, with the potential downside of difficulty with integration. You can reduce your risk choosing best of breed by checking references from clients who have integrated the applications you’re considering. With a Single Source solution, you get scheduling, documentation, and billing all from one application and vendor. This means minimal integration issues, with the potential downside of compromises in functionality in one or more areas. Since most practices already have a billing system, this often means deciding on a documentation system from that vendor, or replacing their billing system in order to add documentation.