Why Wait to Use an EMR for your Medical Practice?

I’ve met 787 doctors by now personally. That’s 1-on-1, not in a group.

A good number of them want to use an EMR for their medical practice but they want to wait for the right time, at least that’s what they told me. A majority of them have always wanted to use an EMR for years but never got started due to various reasons and fears.

Being the guy that’s offering the EMR app and platform to them, I have to understand the different “why’s” to better build and offer our products.

  • Why can’t you get started?
  • Why is X stopping you from using it?
  • Why is it so complicated for you?
  • Why do you want to use it anyway?
  • Why are you waiting for the right time?

I have to ask the right questions to better understand how a prospective doctor/client thinks so we can address their fears, concerns and issues.

Over the years of doing this, we know we have a clear understanding of the overall picture.

Every single one of those concerns, we’ve already answered with how the  SeriousMD software is built.

One thing that we cannot address within the software and our processes is “the wait for the right time.”

The Real Challenge

I’ve personally sold to different people all over the world and “the wait for the right time” issue comes up the most in the Philippines for some reason. 😅

We help you see the value, the exponential ROI, we also excite a lot of our potential users (who then became users just by being excited) simply by showing the features and possibilities for their practice.

For a good chunk of doctors that I’ve personally talked to, they already know the value, the ROI and are genuinely excited – but they still have a “wait for the right time” approach.

If you’re in the “wait for the right time” boat, don’t get me wrong, I totally understand it with your busy schedule (you have to juggle your business, family, learnings, department meetings and all that) but there’s a reason why I wanted to publish this post.

I regularly blog about personal motivation, productivity and entrepreneurship on other blogs. I love trying to push people and inspiring them to commit and take the first step into whatever endeavor because that’s the only way you’ll get started with anything in life.

The same thing applies when using software as you’re integrating something new to what you already do.

Why Wait?

Just apply 1 thing at a time.

Wanting to get started is different from actually getting started. The right time won’t come.

You are the one that determines that it’s the right time.

I could name a LOT of doctors using SeriousMD right now that started with 1 step at a time and did not try to overcomplicate things.

  • They did not let their age stop them.
  • They did not wait for all the hardware to be ready.
  • They did not wait for their other new clinic before getting started.
  • They “stole” their wife’s old iPad that was lying around to try SeriousMD.
  • They simply signed up for an account and got to trying out the app.
  • They got on their iPhone, downloaded it and played with it during lunch time.
  • They brought their iPad along during a conference overseas and created templates on the plane.
  • They turned on their old pocket wifi device and tried using 2 devices together to see that it does really sync.

They just tried it and after some practice, it became natural and super easy. The barriers that seemed insurmountable started to look realistic. You’ll start to see how it can be integrated to your existing workflow.

I’m not saying that there’s no learning curve.

Everything new has a learning curve, the actual issue is “how big” that learning curve is.

Though that learning curve will depend on what software you’re using (that’s our job to design the software with workflow in mind), the practice or time you put in is what’s actually critical.

There’s really no point for making something user-friendly, if it’s not being used, right?

As with any new thing, you’ll start to be more confident as you use or do it more.

In terms software like SeriousMD, as you start using it regularly, you’ll start to see more things that you can optimize for your workflow, find new useful features and soon you’ll notice that you are spending less time on the app and more time with your patients. Your patients will definitely let you know that they appreciate it.

At the end of the day…

“Nothing motivates you better than seeing progress.”

I literally have no idea who said that but if I translate that, it basically means “don’t wait for inspiration, just start doing.”

See you inside SeriousMD.