My doctor’s experience with an EMR
I spent an interesting visit with my internist yesterday for a periodic exam. She and her two colleagues have implemented the use of an EMR into their practice as have almost 60% of physicians in private practice in the U.S. As an EHR developer for dentistry, I have been very curious about her opinions of how the process has gone.
Certainly the financial incentives offered by the HITECH Act of 2009 made their decision to convert from paper charts to digital records more attractive. She admits that the costs of converting information from previous paper records into their new digital records were a significant cost factor. She also did not like the amount of typing she had to do to enter notes – admitting that she is not a good typist. But, that said, looking back on the process and where they are today, she and her partners would never go back to paper charts. They are now realizing the benefits gained from digital records that were never envisioned from a background of paper chart use and they also appreciated the increase in administrative efficiency that the practice had achieved.
This reminded me of a conversation with one of DecisionBase’s users in Texas who commented after 3 years of using our EHR: “Dr Rhodes, while feeling very grateful about what you have created, I feel that in some ways you are similar to a drug pusher: Once hooked on your software, there is no way you would ever go back.”
So won’t you share your comments of how DecisionBase for Periodontics or OMS have impacted you and your practice?
Atul Gawande: How do we heal medicine?
Isn’t Atul Gawande captivating in this TED talk! I totally agree with his Cowboys versus Pit Crews analogy. Even in dentistry, greater success can be assured when a team of people are arriving at a complete diagnosis and then co-coordinating the care they all provide to arrive at a healthier patient. During my career I participated in a pit crew of a periodontist, prosthodontist, orthodontist and endodontist who all worked together in a coordinated fashion to carry out a multi-disciplinary treatment plan. That was always the most rewarding experience: to see the outcome of that type of coordinated care.
Interesting PC Magazine article, using the iPad in Medicine to make better decisions
Interesting article from PC Magazine on why healthcare providers are focusing on the use of an iPad to increase the quality of their decisions. Yes, you can use an iPad with DecisionBase Software.
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/295802/9-new-life-saving-technologies-for-doctors
Why this Physician Loves His EMR
The use of clinical decision support (CDS) is one of the top reasons this physician loves the EMR he has used since 2006. DecisionBase uses Clinical Decision Support in its “SmartForms” which have been laid out to follow procedural algorithms – similar to how check lists have been designed for use in aviation.
Click on the link for detailed comments by this physician on this aspect of his EMR.
