Overview: 

 

For physician practices just setting foot into the EHR arena, and for those practices transitioning to a new EHR software package, the fundamental document controlling their experience will be the EHR license agreement. The license agreement will -- or should -- determine issues such as how whether and how often the vendor may make online portions of the software unavailable for maintenance or other issues; how many people may use the software and on how many machines the software may be installed (if it has an offline component); what kind of technical support will be provided by the vendor; whether and under what conditions the vendor will use data entered by the practice for its own purposes; how the agreement may be terminated; and, what happens to the practice's data upon termination. Although physician practices may be keen to hasten to implementation of the software, it is crucial that they understand exactly what they are signing.

 

This presentation examines common issues and clauses that appear in most EHR license agreements, including those referenced above and others such as compliance with Meaningful Use. The presentation touches on what types of documents are often incorporated into the license agreement The presentation offers practical considerations for physician practices in reviewing EHR license agreements. Finally, the presentation addresses what physician practices can expect in the negotiation process after the license agreement has been reviewed. 

 

Why should you Attend: 

 

The process of adopting and implementing an EHR can be long and arduous. After spending seemingly innumerable hours researching and testing different EHRs, many physician practices are simply ready to move on to actually implementing the new software. In addition, vendor sales personnel may be pressuring the practice to sign so as to take advantage of special limited-time deals or rates. Thus, there is often a strong desire to simply sign the license and be done with it. 

 

This is a mistake. The license agreement is a fundamental document that will control the relationship between the practice and the vendor. Physician practices need to understand exactly what they are agreeing to when they sign. For example, does the license agreement require a specific person at the practice as the primary contact with the vendor? If so, what happens if that person is out sick or on vacation, or quits or is fired? What happens if the software operates as specified, but you want to switch to a different vendor's software? Does the license let you terminate at will, or only under certain circumstances? What happens to your data after termination? How soon will you get it back, and in what form? 

 

These and other questions should be answered by the terms of the license agreement. If they are not even addressed, then the practice may want to negotiate on the terms of the agreement. At the very least, the practice should be clear on what it is signing and to what it is agreeing. 

 

Areas Covered in the Session:

 

Common contractual terms in EHR software license agreements.

Grounds for termination of a license.

Common documents incorporated into the license.

Meaningful Use considerations.

Post-termination data control and conversion.

 

 

Who Will Benefit:

 

Physicians

Practice managers

 

Speaker Profile :

 

 

Daniel F. Shay is an attorney with Alice G. Gosfield and Associates, P.C. His practice is restricted to health law and health care regulation focusing primarily on physician representation, fraud and abuse compliance, Medicare Part B reimbursement, and HIPAA compliance in the physician context. He also has a keen interest in intellectual property issues, including copyright, trademark, data control, and confidentiality. He has also focused his attention on provider control of commerce in data, electronic health records license agreements, physician advertising, enrollment in Medicare, quality reporting and quality measurement, physician use of non-physician practitioners, and physician use of social media. Mr. Shay received his Bachelor of Science degree cum laude in 2000 from Vanderbilt University and his juris doctorate degree from Emory University School of Law in 2003. 

 

Mr. Shay is admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar, is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, and is the Vice Chair of Research and Website for the American Health Lawyers Association's Physicians and Physician Organization Practice Group.

 

 

Price : $139.00 

 

Contact Info:

 

 

MentorHealth

Phone No: 1-800-385-1607

FaX: 302-288-6884 

support@mentorhealth.com

Event Link: http://bit.ly/Health-Records-Software-License-Agreements

http://www.mentorhealth.com/

 

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