So what did they do with their EMR software? Where I work, the EMR or hospital information system, runs on Windows. Period. Not Linux. Windows. And so we're locked in. The provider's and nurse's documentation is done in MS Word. I keep asking why are we paying $200-$300 a pop for Office when there are free versions out there? Answer - the system only works with MS Word. Swapping EMR's out is not a solution. We're talking upwards of $50M and for a small hospital.
But, I probably won't have to worry about it in a year's time or so. Thanks to Medicare\Medicaid reimbursement rates going down (in some procedures, the payment is less than the cost to provide the service) and ACO and Meaningful Use, small hospitals are finding it difficult to survive. So, when the takeover (around here it's euphemistically referred to as a 'meger') happens I'm sure IT along with a lot of the non-clinical areas will show a reduction in staff.