Choosing an IDD EHR: The Buyer's Checklist

Every IDD EHR demo looks impressive for the first twenty minutes. They all have daily notes, they all have a dashboard, they all say "audit-ready." The differences that decide whether you're happy in year two don't show up in the polished demo — they show up in the pricing model, the fine print on what's included, and how the system behaves the week before a licensing visit.

Here's the checklist that surfaces them.

1. How does it price?

Per user, per location, or per individual? A per-user model charges you more every time you hire — in the highest-turnover role in the field. Ask what it costs to add ten staff mid-year; the answer tells you whether your software cost tracks your team size.

2. What's actually included vs. sold separately?

"Everything included" and "all-in" are marketing words. Get the real list: are documentation, MAR, incidents, and person-centered plans on every plan, or are they modules with their own line items? A cheap base price with five paid add-ons isn't cheap.

3. Is it built for your regulations, or generic?

A generic EHR bolts compliance on. One built for DD waiver work maps to the actual requirements — the daily note ties to the plan, incidents route to the right state process, the forms match your state's templates. Ask to see a real state form, not a blank grid.

4. What does migration cost — in money and in time?

You have years of records in your current system. Ask who moves them, how long it takes, and what it costs. "Export a CSV and figure it out" is not a migration.

5. How does it behave the week before a survey?

The real test. Can you generate an audit-ready packet on demand — documentation completeness, signatures, expiring credentials — or do you assemble it by hand? Ask for a one-click audit export in the demo.

6. Who can see what?

Direct care, program managers, administrators, auditors, and guardians all need different access. Ask whether roles are built for the IDD org chart or bolted onto generic SaaS permissions.

Where CareHub fits

CareHub was built by a former program director specifically for DD-waiver, behavioral health, and community-based providers: per-location pricing with unlimited staff, core modules included on every plan, state-specific compliance across the states we serve, free migration from any EHR, role-based access built for the IDD org chart, and one-click audit-ready exports. It's designed to pass the year-two test, not just the demo.

Take this checklist into any demo — including ours. If a vendor can't give you a straight answer on pricing model and what's included, that's your answer. When you're ready to compare on your own programs, start a free 14-day trial.