Why free EHR software are not good for your practice?

Posted by jagveer singh on June 15th, 2019

In the recent past, we were surprised by the news of Facebook data leak from one of its partner company “Cambridge Analytica” who had access to millions of Facebook user’s data. This event was indeed a disaster for Facebook and it made a global impact on cybersecurity and changed the entire dynamics of the IT industry. It also made us realize the importance of data security and how necessary it is to protect it.

“Data is the most precious thing”

We are living in a century where data is the most precious thing and companies are using creative ways to obtain it. Did you ever notice when visiting a website, you were asked a question about cookies access, right? Well, you must have given it importance before and often click on the OK icon many times and eventually shared your web browsing data. It sounds creepy, right? Off course it is. Research and Advertisement companies use cookies totailor the search preference and place advertisements as per the behavior of the person. For example, if you search online for shirts, then you are more likely to see the shirt advertisement on every site you visit.

Another interesting way that manipulators use to obtain users data is by using the “FREE” tag with a list of things such as free games, or free mobile applications. We often enjoy using free stuff but do not realize the real intention behind it. Just a few days ago, I downloaded a VPN mobile application which was free to use as per the details mentioned in the downloading area. After the download and installation, I was asked a simple question that if I want to use the application then I must tap on the Ok button and agree to share my mobile data. It was indeed very irritating and shocking how in the name of free, companies are forcing people to share their data.

The Free EHR

If we compare this case with the healthcare industry then we can easily find the similarities in ways of data manipulation, as there are various companies offering free EHR software for different practices. The small or standalone practices are more venerable to take the bait of “FREE EHR” and due to many reasons. It is also important to understand here that I am not saying that all of the free EHR software providers are doing the same thing but the point is that you should always keep certain things in check which I will later describe in this article.

So, how does it affects the practices? And why free EHR software are not good for practices?

Every business ultimate goal is to be more and more profitable, which is also the case of many free EHR software providers. They do not use traditional ways to generate revenue meaning instead of taking money directly from users they prefer other ways. And you do not need to be an IT expert to understand how it all works, as most of the free EHR software providers sell the users data to research and marketing companies (literally your entire data) which they use to generate income. So, from now on always think twice before going for the free EHR because your practice can come easily under scrutiny, as according to MACRA, it is necessary for all practices to take certain steps to secure and ensure data security.

Let`s say you finally found the EHR software that is free and does not share your data to generate revenue so can you be at ease knowing it and use the software without any worries? Well, off course not as I have said that there are various ways that can be used by those free EHR software providers to generate revenue. Another one of which is the limited functionality tactics that they employ and force users to do the in-purchases which often seems cheap but cost more in longer terms.

Avoid Unnecessary Risks

Each of the current industry leaders in EHR software have one thing in common, they all have an excellent support system but using the free EHR software, you would never get any sort of support from the providers as they do not invest in this area meaning during the operations if you face an unexpected issue and find it difficult to resolve it then there is a fair chance that you will end up wasting your entire day and putting your practice future at risk.

In conclusion, it is now clear that it is better to avoid free EHR software as they do more harm than good.The EHR software industry is big and you can easily find lots of good and cheap software as per your need and budget so stop wandering around searching for the free software and always opt for that software that comes with a price and support to avoid unnecessary risks.