Selecting a Suitable Electronic Health Records (EHR) vendors

EHR vendor selection is one of the most important initial steps in process of Electroinc Health Records (EHR) implementation. A mismatch between EHR vendor and hospital can have significant adverse effect on the implementation of EHR. However, it is very hard to select a vendor that suits an organizational among the many available vendors in the market. This study aims to examine which relationship exists between the locations of hospitals (rural-urban) and other organizational contextual factors and Electronic Health Records (EHR) vendor selection. Cross-sectional multivariate analysis of survey data drawn from HIMSS Annalytics annual survey of 2013 conducted with hospitals in the United States was used in this study. The location of hospitals affects EHR vendors. Rural and urban hospitals select different EHR vendors. This implies that hospitals in similar location with similar practice goals and patterns need to select EHR vendors that meet their needs and budget. In addition to the location of hospitals, practice goals and patterns affect EHR vendor selection. The result of this study guides rural hospitals about selecting a suitable EHR vendor, which will lead to the successful implementation and adoption of EHR. Future research can be conducted about whether hospitals that selected the same vendor with the similar organizational learning processes are more likely to succeed in EHR implementation and attain meaningful use of EHRs.