CUSTOMER STORY · HEALTHCARE IT · EHR PERFORMANCE
As a clinic grew, its EHR became increasingly slow. The server met the vendor’s specifications, yet everyday performance was falling short. Running reports had become disruptive enough to bring the clinic’s work to a halt.
BeCloud traced the bottleneck to storage. We upgraded the drives to fast SSDs configured in RAID 10, and the EHR vendor performed database defragmentation. After that coordinated work, the practice administrator could run reports while the clinic continued operating.
The specifications were only the starting point
The clinic had a reasonable expectation: a server that met the EHR vendor’s requirements should support its work. But as the practice grew, the gap between the stated specifications and actual performance became harder to ignore.
The question was not simply whether the server met a checklist. It was whether the system could handle the clinic’s real workload—including reporting alongside everyday EHR use.
Find the bottleneck before replacing the system
BeCloud’s investigation narrowed the performance problem to the storage subsystem. That finding gave the clinic a specific issue to address, rather than treating the entire EHR or server as the problem.
We replaced the drives with fast solid-state storage configured in RAID 10. The EHR vendor also performed database defragmentation. The work addressed both the underlying storage and the database it supported.
Illustrative summary of the engagement. The outcome followed both the storage upgrade and the vendor’s database work.
The result the administrator noticed
The practice administrator was struck by the practical difference: reports could now run without bringing the clinic’s work to a halt.
That is the meaningful outcome of this engagement. Reporting no longer required the same interruption to everyday operations. We do not have benchmark figures to attach to the improvement, and the result should be credited to the combined infrastructure and database changes.
What this means for a growing practice
If your EHR slows down as your clinic grows, the next step is to identify the constraint under the workload you actually run. Minimum specifications alone cannot tell you where that constraint is.
- Describe the disruption: identify which tasks slow down and when.
- Investigate before investing: establish where the bottleneck is before choosing an upgrade.
- Coordinate with the EHR vendor: infrastructure and database work may need to happen together.
- Verify the business outcome: confirm that staff can complete the work that was previously disrupted.
For this clinic, the issue was storage. Other environments need their own diagnosis; this case is not a blanket recommendation to install SSDs or change RAID configurations.
This is BeCloud’s Predictable Operations™ approach to managed IT: understand the workload, address the cause, and verify the result in everyday use.
Is your EHR slowing your clinic down?
Talk with BeCloud about the symptoms, the impact on your staff, and where to start investigating.