Agree what needs to move
List the information in the old system, including attached documents and links between records. Establish who can provide an export and who decides what should be kept. Your organisation's information-handling arrangements should guide the work, including any use of real records during testing.
Ask the supplier how the old system's fields fit into the new one. A field is simply a place for a particular detail, such as an appointment date. If systems use different names or choices, agree how those differences will be handled.
Try a move before the real changeover
Begin with made-up records representing everyday and awkward cases: missing optional information, similar names, long notes and attachments. Ask staff to use the result in the new system. Can they find what they need to finish their work?
A matching number of records is useful but insufficient. A document could be present yet attached to the wrong record, or a date could have changed meaning. Ask for checks following complete examples and a list of unresolved problems.
Plan the day of the move
Agree when staff stop making changes in the old system, how late changes will be captured and when the new system can be used. Name the person who can approve the move and who can pause it if important checks fail.
Discuss the fallback beforehand. If the team has already added information to the new system, returning to the old one needs careful planning too. Staff should know the temporary working arrangements and the contact for urgent problems.
Check the result with the team
After the move, ask staff to complete agreed tasks and report anything missing or confusing. Keep unresolved issues visible, with someone responsible for each. Follow up on changes made around the changeover so they are not overlooked.
Close the project when checks are complete, the practice can use its information and the handover is documented. Decide what happens to old accounts and source files under approved arrangements. A successful import should lead to a usable service.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Information in scope; rehearsal findings without record details; changeover decision and outstanding issues.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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