Guest columnist Brian O’Neill is president and CEO of Office Ally, which offers providers a full complement of revenue cycle management services, including a patient portal, electronic health records, a practice management system, a clearinghouse and a billing service.

One of the greatest professional challenges and business decisions physicians find themselves confronting today is the conversion of their office and systems to electronic health records (EHRs). While once found only in the most technologically savvy physician offices and viewed by many as a ‘nice to have’ luxury, EHRs are quickly becoming a ‘need to have’ in medical offices across the country. And with good reason!