The Benefits of EMR in Selling a Medical Practice in California

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is now a reality.

From the largest hospitals to the smallest rural practices, medical records have transitioned to digital formats. What does this mean when you are preparing to sell your medical practice in California?

There are certainly benefits to having the right EMR, and a good one, before you even put your practice up for sale.

The Bad

Maybe you and your staff had an EMR system you really struggled with or that did not work well for your practice. Perhaps it wasn’t easy to learn, or it lacked some of the security features you were looking for. Whatever the reasons you might have struggled, it just did not work.

Hopefully, before you put your practice up for sale, you have replaced it. If you haven’t, you may want to. While you may be leaving, your staff might stay behind. This could be to work for the new owner or, at the very least, through a transition period. They can help with training and assisting patients in their adaptation to the new environment.

Either way, you don’t want to sell a practice with a poorly functioning EMR that even your staff struggles with. Not only can this hurt the value of your practice, but it can also make it challenging. It may be difficult for the new provider to maintain continuity of care.

The Good

Medical records are not technically part of the sale of a practice.

They can’t be. You must provide them with the option to take their records with them to a new doctor. If they do want to stay, you will need their consent to share their records with the new doctor.

If they do not specify where they want their records to go, and they do not give consent for them to go to a new physician, you are obligated to hang on to them for some time. The laws vary by state. Therefore, checking with the medical board in California will help you determine the duration for your area.

The good news is that with a sound EMR system, this does not mean dozens of cardboard boxes that must be stored securely somewhere. Instead, you can store them digitally on an encrypted hard drive or other HIPAA-compliant device.

Learn more about why now is a great time to sell your urgent care center practice in California.

The Ugly

The benefits of a good EMR when you are selling your practice are many. Sending records to new doctors is easy, and maintaining the necessary records is also relatively simple.

However, the potentially ugly part comes if the individual purchasing your practice has an entirely different EMR system they want to stick with. Sometimes, this transition goes smoothly for both patients and practices. In other cases, it does not, and this can be time-consuming, potentially resulting in data loss.

To prevent this, take a few precautions on your own.

• Back Up Your Data: Once the records have been fully transferred, you can destroy them, but maintain a backup in case of any issues that may arise.
• Cloud EMR: If you are using a cloud service for your EMR system, keep your accounts open and records up-to-date throughout the transition.
• Over-communicate: Keep the patient and other individuals informed of any issues that arise in the process and reassure them that a resolution will be reached.

For the most part, EMR is a great thing and a fantastic help for doctors and medical clinics alike. However, there are downsides and potential pitfalls.

When selling your practice, have a good EMR and use it to your advantage.

Have questions about how to sell your medical practice, how to market it, and what that looks like? Get in touch with us here at Rogerson Business Services to see how we can help you sell your medical practice in California.

Andrew Rogerson is a certified business broker based in Sacramento, California. Call Toll-Free at (844) 414-9700. If you prefer, email him at support@rogersonbusinessservices.com. Andrew services the whole state of California.