How to switch your therapy practice to a new EHR

Decide what must keep working

Write down why you are changing systems and the tasks that must keep working. Name who decides clinical needs, who handles scheduling and billing, and who can approve the switch. Give one person responsibility for the overall move so problems do not get lost between software companies.

For every type of information, choose where it will live: in the new software, in an accessible archive, in the old system for a while or in another approved process. Different records may need different treatment. Do not assume “move everything” is one task.

Keep record-retention, access and contractual requirements specific to the practice’s circumstances and professional guidance. Do not use a generic article’s retention period as permission to delete records or cancel access.

List the records and business information you need

Check exactly what can move

Check the contents of every download. For example, SimplePractice says its client data download does not include appointments. It points to the Appointment status report for that information. Downloading client records is therefore only one part of the move.

Ask both software companies exactly which records they can move and in what format. Check whether the team can search and use them afterward. A PDF that someone can read is different from information the new software can sort, search or use in a calculation.

Write down anything someone must change or enter by hand. If recurring appointments must be recreated, give that task an owner and check the finished schedule. If old unpaid bills stay in the old system, decide who will follow them and match later payments. Find these limits before the day you switch.

Test the everyday tasks before switching

Use invented example records where possible to test booking, rescheduling, a cancelled appointment, documentation and supervision, billing preparation, payment posting and access roles. Validate real imported records only through the approved secure process.

Choose representative exceptions: a client who has seen more than one clinician, an outstanding balance with a credit, a recurring appointment that changes after the test export, or a service with a later payment. The test should reveal how the new arrangement handles the work the practice actually does.

For each essential task, record whether it works, has a limit you can accept or needs fixing. Resolve a failed clinical or billing task, or agree a workable backup, before switching. A large number of successfully imported files does not make up for an essential task that fails.

Give old bills and new bills a clear home

Decide which system handles sessions before and after the switch, who follows existing claims and where later payments are recorded. Give each bill one working home so two people do not both submit or change it. Keep enough reference information to trace the original session and its payment.

For example, a session before the switch may be paid afterward. That does not automatically make it a new-system bill. Decide who records the payment, where the final balance is shown and how the owner checks that it was handled.

If a third-party platform manages part of billing, include its account permissions and required clinician actions in the transition. Changing the EHR does not automatically transfer authority over another platform’s workflow.

Plan the day you switch systems

Choose the date and time of the final download, the order of the move and when staff start using the new system. Track anything changed after the test download. A schedule copied days earlier may no longer match next week’s appointments.

Give staff concise instructions for the first day: where to look, what to do with an exception and who can decide to use the fallback. Give clients only the information relevant to their appointments and access. Avoid making them navigate internal migration details.

Have a backup for essential tasks that fail. State how the team will keep working, where new information will be recorded and who will check it afterward. Decide this before the switch so the first day does not depend on guesswork.

Check the first full period in the new setup

Check that the agreed records, upcoming appointments, unpaid balances and payment totals match. Test what each staff role can see and do, and confirm clinicians can find the records they need. Keep a list of problems until each is fixed or has an accepted arrangement and a person responsible.

Compare the first complete reporting period using the same dates, people and definitions as before. A new label or formula can make the numbers look different even when the practice has not changed. Our guide to reports that disagree explains how to check.

Only close the old arrangement according to the validated access, retention and contractual plan. An import-complete notification does not settle those obligations.

Include Cortexa in the switch where needed

If you use Cortexa Analytics, include its connection and reports in the switch. Confirm which history remains available and check the totals. Keep the earlier reports so a software change does not look like an unexplained change in performance.

If Full Service Partner handles intake, scheduling, billing or payroll, agree how those tasks change before the switch. Keep any third-party account limits clear. Your practice chooses the software and clinical requirements; Cortexa supports the agreed administrative work around that choice.