I recently compulsively changed my Pioneer audio deck for one that could interface better with my iPhone. As technology evolves, a deck that handled my iPod could not interact with the newer iPhone. Unfortunately, I ignored the usability issues I had learned from the last car deck upgrade by focusing instead on the feature set. How often do we do the same when selecting an Electronic Medical Record system?
Read MoreA friend asked me what EMR to get and here’s my response (edited a bit from its original form to make it into more of an article than a chatty email message.)
Read More“In the US, payment is based on CPT codes which are determined by how many items are recorded in the examination.This results in a system where “more is better”. With EHR, the ability to “default” normal items into the record can lead to 3 and 4 page eye examinations with elaborate descriptions of normal findings. The ability to extract the pertinent material is hampered by the amount of useless verbiage."
Read MoreThe Vancouver Sun article and the Telus Press release that it is likely based upon, makes it sound like all we need is Telus to start using Microsoft's HealthVault and magically patients will access all their health records. At least when Apple promises some magic, they deliver something and make us think it is special. There is no way that Telus can deliver their magical solution as simply hosting a medium to access health records does not mean any data will be in theHealthVault.
Read MoreIf you adopted an Electronic Medical Record to take advantage of government funding, then you have made a big mistake, not to mention having abused public funds for personal gain. An EMR SHOULD be used to help improve the quality of care for your patients. For the most part, such systems do not save you time during your patient encounters and can be heartbreakingly painful to set up for your practice. That being said, it appears that a number of my colleagues have made the move to an EMR so they could get the government incentive money. Why would anyone do this?
Read MoreI started this site in 2009 to write about Glaucoma, Health IT (EMR, EHR), Technology and to host my podcast series "Talking About Glaucoma." There is a shortcut to this blog to make it easier to find http://iguy.tv/blog.
I am a glaucoma sub-specialized Ophthalmologist and have a full time clinical practice at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic of the Geisel School of Medicine in Hanover, NH. I have a longtime interest in the use of technology to help in medical care as well as in Education. In addition, I was a very early adopter and developer of Electronic Medical Record systems who has lectured internationally on the topic of making the transition to EMRs in daily practice.
Copyright © 2009-2018, Robert M Schertzer, MD, MEd, FRCSC. All rights reserved.
