There is a more to say about EHR (or EPR) system standards than would fit in a single blog post, so this entry will be the first in a series that explores issues related to standards in detail.
RDBMS (Relational Database Management System): The RDBMS is where the data related to patients and their medical history, clinical content, workflows, etc., is stored by the EHR system. When a vendor chooses a particular RDBMS to host this data, it directly impacts the performance and the usefulness of the EHR system.
As a customer, the performance and usefulness of the system directly impacts your ability to provide quality care to your patients. Not only is it an issue related to patient care but it can also impacts you financially from a licensing and ongoing support standpoint. Running a clinic on a daily basis is hectic enough without having to worry about the additional burden of having to monitor a database system and coordinate support for it if something goes wrong.
I will not name any one technology as being better than the others because they all have their positives and they all have their drawbacks too. An Oracle system might be better for Clinic A but a SQL Server system might be better suited to the needs of Clinic B. It is important to look at your environment and the resources available to you before picking one over the other.
I always recommend getting in touch with a technology consulting company that understands the healthcare IT environment. It is a small cost to a clinic that will likely save a lot of money in the long run.
Next week, I will talk about another standard. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, feel free to email me from my profile on this website or at aahmed@ainq.com .