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How Much Will EHR Customer Service Cost?

Consider when you will need support and make sure to read the fine print.

I thought about this topic after a prospective client matched Sevocity’s prices to another EHR they were considering and thought Sevocity was more expensive.

It turns out that the monthly cost of Sevocity was about $50 more than the other EHR the practice was considering.  While we believed Sevocity offered features and services well worth the $50 difference we were also curious – was Sevocity really $50 more?  Upon review of the other vendor’s contract we found that the contract limited the practice to 5 support calls per month and additional calls would cost $25 each.  The “more expensive” product (Sevocity) would become less expensive after just 7 support calls per month and considerably less expensive if the practice were to need to make many calls – especially likely in the first few months.

When considering cost of your EHR, make sure you read the fine print and whether or not the vendor charges extra for after-hours support, support on weekends or holidays and for more than a specified number of support calls.

After being in health-care technology for many years I am still surprised by vendors that charge extra for “extra” support.  The reality is that the vendor has more control over the need for support calls than the customer.  Vendors who design intuitive systems and implement and train well minimize the need to call support.  And vendors that do these things well then welcome support calls.  After all, we want practices using our system and using it well.

Catherine Huddle – VP, Market Development