How Do You Switch EHRs Without Disrupting Your Practice?

An additional charge for a part-time provider can be enough to make a small practice reconsider its EHR.

That was part of a recent conversation I had with a physician helping a primary care practice evaluate Tarevo. The practice was already using another EHR. The software was doing its job, but the cost of adding providers raised questions about whether it still made financial sense.

An added provider fee affects what stays in the practice owner's pocket. Before accepting it, the owner needs to understand the terms. Can the additional expense end when the provider stops working there? Is there a minimum commitment? Does a temporary staffing need create a longer financial obligation?

Those questions can start the search for another system. But finding a lower monthly price is only the beginning.

The harder question is how to move while continuing to see patients, document care, and get paid.

Start With the Clearinghouse

In this conversation, I suggested starting with the clearinghouse roughly 60 days before the planned move.

The clearinghouse connection can take longer to prepare than other parts of the transition. Getting the new account built and ready for Tarevo should begin while the practice is still documenting visits and submitting claims through its existing EHR.

That lead time serves a purpose. It gives the billing setup time to move forward without forcing the clinic to change how it works before the new connection is ready.

If you leave that work until the data has already moved, you can put the practice in an uncomfortable position: ready to document in the new system but still waiting for the billing connection.

The goal is to have that connection ready before the switch. Then the data transfer and clinical start date can be coordinated around it. With the pieces prepared in advance, the practice can avoid an unnecessary period of paper documentation while waiting for billing setup.

Sixty days is a planning starting point. The actual schedule needs to reflect what the clearinghouse and the practice's billing arrangements require.

Plan the Handoff of Both Records and Billing

Moving patient records is one part of changing EHRs. There is also work already in progress.

Claims submitted through the old system may still need follow-up. Payments may arrive after the practice begins using the new system. Staff may need access to previous documentation while learning where information lives in the new chart.

For this practice, we discussed bringing over seven years of records. Before promising a migration date or price, we need to establish what the current vendor can provide, what those files contain, and how that information will be available in Tarevo.

Clinical records, scanned documents, and billing history each need attention. Having an export does not, by itself, answer every question about how staff will use the information afterward.

The transition plan should make the responsibilities clear: where new visits will be documented, where new claims will be submitted, and how the practice will finish work remaining in the previous system.

That is what I mean by winding down one EHR while ramping up the other.

Use the Practice's Own Workflow to Evaluate the Replacement

The physician helping with this evaluation plans to create sample patients and walk through the practice's daily work before presenting the findings to the owner.

That is a useful way to evaluate an EHR.

A demonstration should help the practice answer practical questions. Can the provider find the previous note? Document today's visit? Review medications? Order the needed tests? Select the appropriate billing codes? Can the billing team take that completed work through its next steps?

These details matter to a doctor who has already experienced a difficult migration. A lower price deserves consideration, but confidence comes from seeing how the work will get done.

Using fictional patients gives the team room to explore those questions before a real patient is waiting.

Give Staff Time to Practice

We currently have another client spending two weeks training with Tarevo before going live in the clinic.

They are using that time to become familiar with the system before bringing it into patient care. Staff can ask questions, repeat tasks, and identify points of confusion while there is still time to address them.

During a live clinic day, those same questions compete with ringing phones, arriving patients, and providers trying to stay on schedule.

Training belongs in the transition schedule. It needs its own time alongside clearinghouse setup and migration preparation.

The amount of training will vary by practice, but the purpose remains the same: give people a chance to become comfortable before they have to perform under pressure.

Preparation Makes the Move Easier

The practice in this conversation is still evaluating its options. There has been no migration yet, and the owner still needs to decide whether a change makes sense.

My role is to help make that decision concrete: demonstrate the workflow, identify the full costs, examine the available data, and explain the sequence of the move.

Switching EHRs is a timing and juggling act. The clearinghouse, patient records, outstanding billing, and staff preparation all have to come together.

The more of that work we do before the switch, the better positioned the practice will be when the first patient arrives.

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Considering a change of EHR? Let's talk through your workflow, billing connections, and migration needs before you make a move.