The computer world changes very fast; in fact, so fast that it's getting harder and harder to keep pace. For this reason we are always in a learning mode and it is very exciting to find out what is coming next.

Electronic health records are now more than ever part of that race. EHR developers keep inventing and programming new ways to use EHR and its associated components.

Some of the big questions chiropractors now have to answer when going paperless are: Should I use a system that saves and stores the software and all my data on the Internet? Should I use a system that has the program in my office, but my data is stored on the Internet (technical term: cloud computing)? Or should I keep my program and my data local (in my own clinic)?

As a chiropractor, do you really care about where your program and data are stored? My answer to you is yes, please care. This is an important decision you will have to make when converting your paper office to EHR. The choice you make will be the foundation for your system, and as you know, you build a much better house on a good foundation. Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of Internet, cloud computing and local storage.

1. Access to Your Files

In my experience, chiropractors' biggest fear (by far) for going paperless is not being able to access their patient files. With paper files, the worst that can happen (short of a fire or flood) is that the file will be somewhere else in the clinic and the staff will have to search for it. But with an EHR system, if your computer system does not work, you will have no access to your patient files. And with no patient file access, you simply cannot do your job.

For any EHR developer, this "all-the-time access" should be priority one. A good EHR system has to provide you peace of mind that you will always have access to your patient files. With Internet-based programs, you can access all your files from any computer in the world; this is a nice feature for doctors who travel. Unfortunately, you do not have any control over your Internet provider or the company that stores the data. This mean if one of them fails, you fail, too. 

This is the same problem with cloud computing; you may have the EHR program software in your office, but your data is somewhere else. If the Internet fails for one hour, you will not have any access to patient files during that time. This can be very annoying when patients are sitting in your waiting room, ready to be treated. Local storage of data and programs eliminates this potential inconvenience. Your system will work with or without the Internet.

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