Shopping for a practice management system

Q: My practice management system is horribly out of date, but I'm overwhelmed by all the new options that are available and don't have much time to shop around. Do you know of any resources I can access that would help me understand the options and features that would be the best fit for my practice?

A: With federal subsidies for EHR systems in effect, you may want to consider purchasing an integrated EHR system that also comes with practice management software. Either way, plenty of buyers' guides are out there from a variety of resources that list features and functions and sometimes vendor background information for both integrated EHR systems and stand-alone practice management software. Many of the professional associations have done some exploratory research in consideration of the specific needs of a specialty, so a good first stop is your own professional association-another good reason to keep up your membership!