Best Practices for EMR Data Migrations in 2025

What is an EMR migration?

EMR data migration is the process of moving data from one EMR system to another. An example of this is migrating patient bookings, notes, and other data to a new EMR platform. Practically this happens when you are dissatisfied with your current EMR system, or simply just want to move to a new one for whatever reason. The process seems very easy, and it should be, but it is not.

What makes an EMR migration difficult?

Format of the data

EMR migrations are simple to understand, but difficult to execute. Most of the time the data is not in a format that is easy to migrate. This is because the EMR system is not designed to be easily integrated with other systems. Simply because they can, and aim to lock you in for life with their platform.

For example, our client Avalor Vitality Clinic, had exported their data from their current EMR system by requesting it which took 2 weeks to receive, however the data was not in a format that their new EMR system could use since the excel file(s) was suited for their current (at the time) EMR system imports, not their new one. Just that task alone requires a specialized team like Jung Studios to manipulate the data to be in a format that their new EMR system could use. The new EMR system knew that, and gave a 2-3 month timeline to complete the migration manually, with an expensive charge.

Vendor lock in

Another thing, a lot of EMR systems will not make your data accessible through an API. For obvious security reasons, but also vendor lock in just in case your decide to move systems.

Most of the time, you will go through this if you choose to want a migration. However, if you decide to do it yourself, or even have a team to do it for you. We have a guide for that.

Amount of data

Another key factor is the amount of data that needs to be migrated. This can be anywhere from 1000s to 100000s of records. This isn't including metadata like images, videos, transactions, and notes. Even with a few thousand records, it can take a weeks to migrate manually.

HIPAA compliant processes

Finally, the most important factor and not often thought about is being HIPAA compliant while migrating data. Just think about this, how will you transfer the data? Most of the time in our experience, most organizations do it manually by saving it on their company computers, and uploading it to the new EMR system. This is not HIPAA compliant, and is at risk of being breached or data loss.

The best practices for an EMR migration

Contact your EMR provider

Most of the time (not all), your EMR provider will be able to export the data for you. Formats can vary, but the most ideal is an excel file. Ensure that it is in a ZIP file for organization purposes. This will sometimes take a few weeks to receive.

Validate the data

After the data is exported, it is important to validate the data to ensure that it is accurate and complete. This is a critical step in the migration process since sometimes data is lost, in the incorrect order, format, or all together. This is more of a manual process but necessary. Keep in mind you will have to be HIPAA compliant while doing this, so no viewing the data on your own outside of the organizational headquarters, or .

Contact your new EMR provider

After your data is exported, and validated, you will need to contact your new EMR provider to see if they can import the data. Usually, they will be able to offer this, and will have a timeline for the migration. Often times, this will take a few months to complete. Depending on the amount of data, it can take longer.

Ensure no HIPAA violations

While your new EMR provider is importing the data, you will need to ensure you don't have any data on your computers. For security reasons, you will not have any specific metadata related to very sensitive health information even touching your device. A place like Jung Studios can help you with this.

Alleviate the pain of an EMR migration by using a team like Jung Studios

Even using the best practices, data migrations can be very difficult and time-consuming to the point of exhaustion which usually 2-3 months to fully complete.

The Jung Studios team is there to handle this process and complete the migration 95% faster than an EMR provider would.

Ready to migrate your EMR data?

Well, time is of the essence. Get in touch today.