When an EMR vendor receives and RFP from a hospital or community care clinic, the company responds by delivering a detailed proposal containing cost rundowns, definitions of project scope, and scheduling constraints. The submitted proposal is then reviewed by hospital management and compared to competing proposals, before a final determination is ultimately made based on the company's responses. One aspect of the vendor selection that can often remain unnoticed is the process used by hospitals to evaluate the proposals submitted in response to an RFP, because the human element results in certain level of subjectivity to influence critical decisions. Recognizing that the transition to EMR methodologies may represent one of the most important decisions in a healthcare center's evolution, hospital...

To this end, a variety of systemized tools have been developed to assist healthcare providers with ensuring objectivity when appraising the proposals they receive, including scoring systems that translate the varying responses offered by EMR vendors into quantifiable data. Another way to retain the proper level of objectivity when selecting an EMR vendor based on the responses to RFPs is shield the process under the cloak of anonymity. By removing any identifying features from the information reviewed by the vendor selection team, hospital management can ensure that the selected proposal is chosen based on its merits alone.