How to Test EHR Developers with Trial Projects
Hiring the right EHR developer is one of the most consequential decisions a healthcare organization can make. Unlike general software projects, EHR systems sit at the intersection of clinical workflows, regulatory compliance, patient safety, and long-term scalability. A wrong hire doesn’t just lead to missed deadlines or budget overruns—it introduces real clinical, compliance, and operational risk.
Yet many clinics and healthcare organizations still rely heavily on resumes, portfolios, and interviews when they hire an EHR developer. The problem? Interviews rarely reveal how a developer handles real-world healthcare complexity.
There is a big difference in knowing the theory of HL7, FHIR, or HIPAA and applying those standards while building secure, usable workflows under real constraints. This gap is where many healthcare software development projects quietly fail.
That’s why trial projects have become a critical part of EHR developer testing. A well-designed trial project moves evaluation beyond claims and credentials. It shows how a developer approaches security, integration logic, clinical usability, and documentation—skills that matter deeply in custom EHR development.
In this guide, we’ll break down why trial projects matter, what they reveal that interviews don’t, and how clinics can use them to make smarter, lower-risk decisions when evaluating EHR developers.
What Trial Projects Reveal That Interviews Don’t?
Interviews are good at testing how well someone talks about healthcare software. Trial projects reveal how well they actually build it.
When you give a candidate a real, time-bound task, you immediately see whether their EHR developer mindset goes beyond surface-level knowledge. For example, interoperability often sounds impressive in interviews—FHIR resources, APIs, data exchange standards—but a trial project shows whether the developer can design clean data flows, handle edge cases, and think about downstream system impact instead of just making an endpoint “work.”
Trial projects also expose a developer’s security instincts. In healthcare software development, security isn’t an afterthought—it’s a default behavior. Does the developer automatically consider access control, data validation, and safe handling of sensitive fields? Or do they treat security as something to “add later”?
Just as importantly, trial projects reveal clinical awareness. You can see whether a developer understands how small design choices affect clinician workload. Extra clicks, poor data grouping, or confusing workflows may seem minor in code—but they add up to burnout in real clinical settings.
In short, EHR developer testing through trial projects uncovers judgment, priorities, and healthcare maturity—things no resume or interview can reliably show.
How to Design a Practical Trial Project?
A trial project should simulate real EHR developer work—without turning into unpaid labor or a mini product build. The goal isn’t to exhaust candidates, but to observe how they think, prioritize, and execute within healthcare constraints.
Start by keeping the scope small and time-bound. A 24–48 hour window is usually enough to assess skills without overwhelming the developer. Overly large or vague trials dilute results and discourage strong candidates.
Next, include one clear clinical workflow. This could be something simple like a patient intake flow, medication list management, or an e-prescribing screen using mock data. The task should reflect everyday healthcare software development, not edge-case engineering.
Integration logic is equally important. Ask candidates to interact with a mock API or simulate data exchange using basic FHIR-style resources. This quickly reveals how comfortable they are with custom EHR development and interoperability thinking.
Finally, require brief documentation. A short write-up explaining design decisions, assumptions, and trade-offs shows how the developer communicates, reasons through problems, and approaches long-term maintainability.
A well-designed trial makes evaluating EHR developers fair, focused, and genuinely informative.
What to Evaluate During the Trial?
A trial project is only useful if clinics know what to look for beyond “it works.” When evaluating EHR developers, the focus should be on decision quality, not just output.
Start with code quality. Look for clear structure, readable logic, and thoughtful naming conventions. Good EHR developers write code that can scale, be audited, and be maintained by others—especially important in long-term healthcare software development projects.
Next, assess security awareness. Did the developer account for authentication, role-based access, and safe data handling? Even in mock environments, strong candidates show a security-first mindset instead of treating protection as optional or future work.
Workflow understanding is another key signal. Review how many steps it takes to complete a task and whether the flow feels intuitive. Developers who understand custom EHR development think about reducing clicks, minimizing cognitive load, and aligning screens with real clinical behavior.
Finally, evaluate communication. Did the developer ask clarifying questions? Were assumptions documented? How did they respond to feedback? Strong communication often separates a good EHR developer from one who becomes a long-term liability.
Together, these factors provide a far more reliable assessment than interviews alone.
Common Mistakes Clinics Make with Trail Projects
Even well-intentioned trial projects can backfire if they’re poorly designed. One of the most common mistakes clinics make when testing an EHR developer is using real patient or sensitive data. Trial projects should always rely on synthetic or mock datasets. Anything else introduces unnecessary compliance and legal risk before a hire is even made.
Another frequent issue is overloading the trial. Asking candidates to build multiple workflows, complex integrations, or full modules turns the exercise into unpaid labor. This not only skews results but also drives away strong developers who understand fair healthcare software development practices.
Clinics also tend to measure speed instead of judgment. Finishing fast doesn’t mean finishing well. A rushed solution with weak security assumptions or poor workflow design is a red flag in custom EHR development, where long-term stability matters more than quick wins.
Finally, many evaluations ignore mobile and tablet usability. Clinicians frequently use EHRs on tablets during rounds or at the point of care. A developer who designs only for desktop workflows may struggle in real-world environments.
Avoiding these mistakes makes EHR developer testing fairer—and far more predictive.
Making the Final Hiring Decision
A strong trial project result should inform the hiring decision, but it shouldn’t be the only factor. Clinics need to balance how a candidate performed in the trial with their long-term potential to grow alongside the system.
When reviewing results, look beyond perfect execution. The best EHR developer is not always the ine the cleanest output but the one who made thoughtful trade-offs, documented risks, and showed awareness of clinical impact. In healthcare software development, judgment matters as much as technical skills.
It’s also important to evaluate the mindset. Did the developer think beyond code and consider patient safety, clinician efficiency, and compliance implications? Those signals often predict success more accurately than raw speed or flashy features—especially in custom EHR development projects that evolve over time.
At this stage, some clinics realize they don’t just need an individual hire. They need reliability, continuity, and built-in compliance expertise. That’s why many organizations choose to hire EHR developers through pre-vetted healthcare-focused development teams. These teams reduce single-person dependency and bring established processes for security, interoperability, and regulatory alignment.
The final decision should reflect not just who can build today—but who can sustain the system tomorrow.
Conclusion
Hiring the right EHR developer directly impacts clinical safety, compliance, and system reliability. Interviews alone can’t reveal how developers handle real healthcare complexity, security trade-offs, or workflow design. Trial projects fill that gap by showing how candidates think, build, and document under realistic conditions.
Well-structured EHR developer testing helps clinics evaluate technical judgment, security awareness, and clinical sensitivity before making a long-term commitment. Whether hiring an individual or choosing a healthcare-focused development team, testing first reduces risk and improves outcomes.
In healthcare software development, the smartest hiring decisions are proven—not assumed. Click here to hire EHR developers who can truly develop an EHR that functions as support, not just software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I pay an EHR developer for a trial project, or is it part of the interview?
If the trial exceeds a few hours or resembles real deliverable work, pay for it. Short, tightly scoped trials can be unpaid, but compensation signals respect and attracts experienced EHR developers.
What are the best synthetic datasets to use for testing EHR software without violating HIPAA?
Use publicly available synthetic datasets like CMS synthetic claims data, SMART on FHIR sample patients, or custom-generated mock data. Avoid anything derived from real patient records to eliminate HIPAA risk.
How can I test a developer’s knowledge of the latest 2026 ONC certification requirements?
Ask scenario-based questions tied to interoperability, data access, and auditability. During the trial, evaluate how they design APIs, logging, and patient data access rather than asking them to recite regulations.
Is a live coding session more effective than a take-home trial project for healthcare IT?
Live coding tests communication and real-time thinking, but misses depth. Take-home trials better reveal security practices, workflow design, and documentation skills—critical areas in healthcare software development.
How do I evaluate a developer’s ability to integrate third-party billing or lab APIs during a trial?
Use mock billing or lab APIs and assess error handling, data mapping, retries, and documentation. Strong developers explain integration assumptions and edge cases, not just successful API calls.