EHR Launch Costs Physician Primary Care Practices $247,000 in First Year

The average first-year cost to implement an electronic health record (EHR) for a five-physician primary care practice totaled $247,000. The time, hardware, and software costs were $162,000 and maintenance during the first year cost an additional $85,500. Per-physician, the cost of implementing an EHR system was $32,409 through the first 60 days after system launch—similar to costs reported from community-wide initiatives in Massachusetts and New York City. One-time hardware costs were $25,000 per practice for Internet switches, cables, and wireless Internet connections—plus approximately $7,000 per physician for . . .