Here's something that surprised us when we started talking to therapists: almost no one loves their EHR. But almost everyone stays.
Not because the tools are great. Because switching feels impossible.
One therapist was honest about it: "Now that I have Simple Practice, I think it's hard for me to consider making the switch because I don't know what it would feel like to transfer over documents."
That uncertainty (what would it feel like?) is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It's not that migration is actually hard. It's that nobody's made it feel easy. So therapists stay put, even when they're frustrated.
Another clinician used the term "sunk cost" to describe the feeling: "You feel like you've given some money to something and you've invested in it and it's hard to then sort of change courses." She's unhappy with her pricing, skeptical of her billing partner, and actively looking for alternatives. But she hasn't switched. Yet.
One therapist with 13 years in healthcare summed it up perfectly: "There isn't a perfect EHR. There's ones that are the least amount of difficult."
That's the bar. Not good. Just least difficult.
And when every option feels roughly the same, why go through the pain of switching?
But here's what we also heard: therapists would switch if the path were clear. One told us she'd need a free trial where she could make a fake client account and see what the experience is like as a provider and a client. Another said she'd move if the process were seamless and timely, with clear communication throughout.
The lock-in isn't loyalty. It's friction.
At Harbor, we're obsessed with the switch. Transparent migration. Clear timelines. A free trial that lets you actually feel the product before you commit.
Because if we can't earn your trust before you move your data, we haven't earned it at all.