OSCAR EMR

About the Vendor

OSCAR through its product suite and partnerships offers a unique model for connecting care and creating community. The OSCAR EMR has been collaboratively developed based on the collective work, ideas and support of numerous health care providers and developers across the nation. Together these individuals form the OSCAR community known as the OSCAR Canada Users Society (OCUS). The enthusiasm of the OSCAR Community to improve patient care has brought together dedicated individuals from across the country who work towards continuously developing the not only the software tools to enable this, but also a strong community to support it.

Website URL

OSCAR EMR

What type of business are you (e.g. public company, sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.)?

Not-for-profit

In what year did you start business in the health information technology industry?

OSCAR was developed in 2001.

In what year did you start to sell the current practice management component of your EMR Offering? In what year did you start to sell the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) component of your EMR Offering?

Both the practice management component and the EMR were developed and being used in clinics in 2001.

How many full time equivalent staff do you currently employ?

OSCAR McMaster has 7 employees, but works with a number of Approved OSCAR Service Providers to offer complete installation and support services.

How many physicians/clinics currently use your EMR product (e.g. chartless office or a majority of encounters recorded electronically)? How many in Ontario?

There are approximately 1,500 users in Canada and over 500 in Ontario.

Describe training offered to customers who acquire your EMR Offering. Please describe any associated costs.

User training is included in the implementation phase. Training is divided into three sections, administrative, billing and clinical. Typically there are 2 sessions for each type of training and each session lasts 3 hours. Training sessions typically cost $750/session.

Will you offer other (non-EMR application) training to your customers? Please describe any associated costs.

Typically non-EMR training is not covered, but could be included if agreed upon at a rate of $125/hr.

How many hours of physician training do you recommend?

Recommended physician training totals 6 hours.

How many hours of support staff training do you recommend?

Recommended support staff training totals 6 hours.

Are there additional fees for training for software upgrades (if so, please describe)?

Typically training for upgrades is not required, but is available if desired. Release notes and user manuals are provided for no additional charge, however, if training is requested, this is typically $125/hr. In addition, user groups are also offered, and usually cost under $75/day.

Describe the EMR support offered to customers who acquire your Offering. Please describe any associated costs.

Support includes help desk support, upgrades, maintenance and backup. This is covered under a typical support package as outlined in the customer contracts.

Do you provide remote support to your customers? Please describe any associated costs.

Support is generally offered remotely. This can be done by email, phone or directly through accessing the client's server. This is covered under a regular support contract.

Do you take support requests via email? Please describe any associated costs.

Email support is encouraged and is covered under the support contract.

In the event of a disagreement between you and your customer, will you support the notion of a dispute resolution process involving an independent mediator? Please describe any associated costs.

An independent mediator would be supported. Costs would most likely be split with the client.

Do you have a formal process for managing customer-reported incidents? If so, what is the average age of incidents on your problem log before they are closed? Please describe any associated costs.

Problems with software, installation or general use can be submitted to a customer's Approved OSP. The Approved OSP is responsible for addressing and recording issues. If the customer has a complaint about an Approved OSP, this can be submitted to OSCAR McMaster. Customer complaints would be considered incidents and are typically an issue that a customer has esperienced with their Approved OSP. All complaints are promptly addressed and the average age of incidents is less than one week for complaints submitted to OSCAR McMaster. There are no additional costs for this. This mechanism is outlined in the customer contracts.

How often do you make a major software upgrade to your product?

Upgrades usually occur twice a year.

Are there additional fees for major software upgrades (if so, please describe)?

Upgrades are included in the service contract.

Are there additional fees for routine maintenance/small changes (if so, please describe)?

There are no additional charges for routine maintenance, however, if changes are requested, these may have associated costs. The typical rate for software changes is $125/hr. All development work will be quoteed as single charge for the clinic.

Are there additional fees for documentation for software upgrades (if so, please describe)?

Documentation for software upgrades is provided free of charge and available to the public on the OSCAR Canada website (www.oscarcanada.org) and soon to be available on the OSCAR McMaster website (www.oscarmcmaster.org).

How do you provide software updates to clients?

Upgrades are pushed automatically and are usually done overnight to avoid clinic disruptions.

Will you assist physicians in preparing a disaster recovery plan, in the event of the loss of the system? Please describe any associated costs.

A disater recovery plan has been developed as part of the Vendor Collaboration Network documentation and is generally available.

Will you assist physicians in preparing a business continuity plan, in the event of a system disruption? Please describe any associated costs.

A business continuity plan has been developed as part of the Vendor Collaboration Network documentation and is generally available.

Will you offer customers any assurance or commitment to continuity of business in the event of a system disruption? Please describe any associated costs.

System disruptions and down time are very rare. These are usually the result of power failures. The business continuity plan provides options to prepare for these events to minimize down time.

Will you offer data conversion services to customers who already have patient demographic data stored electronically? Please describe any associated costs.

Data conversion services are offered for patient demographic information. These are usually quoted depending on the system being used. Labour for data conversion is usually $125.hr. 

Will you offer data conversion services to customers who already have both patient demographic and clinical data stored electronically? Please describe any associated costs.

Data conversion services are offered for demographic and clinical data. These are usually quoted depending on the system being used. Labour for data conversion is usually $125.hr.