Primary care and specialty physician practice electronic medical record (EMR) developer MediNotes reported that person-to-person support and training after the purchase of an EMR system became the top selling point for doctors considering a switch from paper to electronic medical records. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based firm said that finding came after internally reviewing 10 years of sales to more than 4,300 medical offices and healthcare providers in the United States.

MediNotes also revealed the top five concerns medical and health professionals in its internal survey had regarding the purchase of an EMR:
  1) Successful implementation and support for the EMR;
  2) Pricing — Total cost of ownership over a three- to five-year period;
  3) Functionality and interoperability of the EMR;
  4) Information technology expertise; and
  5) Time necessary to make the transition from paper records to EMR.