“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To talk of many things: Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–Of cabbages–and kings–And why the sea is boiling hot– And whether pigs have wings.”
And so it has come, the time, that is. What if we kick this discussion up a notch? Allow me to begin with some heresy—opinion or doctrine at variance with the orthodox or accepted doctrine. To do that, we are going to learn color outside of the lines.  And, what is the heresy?

“Do away with EHR,” he shouted. Those who haven’t stopped reading please bear with me. Most providers appear to be headed down the EHR highway. Why? Hold onto that question for a minute. What if instead of operating from the premise that everyone needs an EHR, we flipped the premise on its head. Nobody can have an EHR unless they can explain what business problem the EHR will address.

Here’s a brief segue—watch closely or you’ll miss it.  As I passed my ten year-olds bedroom, I asked him why it looked so clean.  “Mom made me do it,” was all he said.  Now that didn’t hurt—the segue—did it?

Mom made me do it.  Why are you getting an EHR?  “Obama made me do it.”  I’ll share my perspective just in case it may not be clear; implementing EHR because you are told to do it is not addressing a business problem.  While it may pass the test of necessity, it does not pass the more rigid test of being both necessary and sufficient.

Now for the tricky part, defining what constitutes a sufficient business case for spending all that money and tearing apart your way of doing business.  For those who have implemented EHR, and for those who are thinking about it, what is your business case?  Does it pass the test of necessary and sufficient if it never goes beyond your four walls?

I’d like to know what you think and what critical success factors you are using.