EHR vendors are looking for implementation consultants and specialists

Electronic health record (EHR) vendors are looking for implementation consultants and specialists. The nice thing is that most of these EHR companies will train you, but you should expect to travel quite a bit for this type of job. The majority of these clinical informatics positions are being filled by nurses, but physicians can play a unique role when it comes to interacting with other physicians.

You see, physicians generally like to learn from other physicians. They want a colleague to provide them with pointers and tips on how a system can improve the clinical workflow. Many hospitals are cultivating physician "champions." These champions are influential advocates and have a unique way of communicating with other physicians in the hospital system. We need more champions, don't we?

So, if you're thinking about a career in health IT, consider how you can play a role in the EHR implementation process. Implementation is just the first step. Maybe you could be instrumental in helping physicians and hospitals reach "meaningful use" so they can receive financial incentives from the government through the HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) within ARRA.

Who are some EHR vendors? Here are a few (in no particular order or preference): Allscripts, GE, Epic, McKesson, NextGen, eClinicalWorks, Practice Fusion, athenahealth, Cerner, ChartLogic, Eclipsys, Greenway, Ingenix, MedConnect, and many others.

Walmart to Sell Digital Health Records

You've probably heard that Walmart is getting into the e-health record space by selling eClinicalWorks. This Electronic Health Record (EHR or EMR) is a CCHIT Certified system (for 2008) and includes a suite of several different options. According to the NY Times, this move by Walmart is to target small physician offices. Speaking of Walmart, have you noticed that they've gotten rid of the hyphen between Wal and Mart? Now they're just Walmart. Anyways, the bigger question remains: will more and more physicians embrace EMRs just because it's available from Walmart of Sam's Club? Plus, what about all those people who hate Dell computers? (I'm not one of them, but I seem to meet them all the time. Some people really have strong opinions about specific PC manufacturers. Maybe that will change with the new Dell Adamo.) With only 17% of the physicians using EHRs, there is a huge marketplace to sell and offer EHRs to those who may lack those strong computer skills. Once BestBuy gets involved in this competition, you'll start seeing a lot more of those "Geek Squad" vehicles around. If you're looking to break into the Health IT industry, maybe you should get a job at Walmart selling EHR solutions and acting as an EHR consultant. I'm sure that eClinicalWorks is bolstering their support staff and preparing for all those phone calls.