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Tag Archives: Records
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Vendors – Points to Consider
Selecting an EMR system for your medical practice is a very challenging task due to the rapid development in that field for last few years. According to a research, there are about 400 EMR vendors alone in the state of Los Angeles and California. Choosing the right EMR vendor is as important as choosing for the software itself. The element of reliability is very important because if it lacks that factor then there is no point of spending so much money on implementing EMR software for your medical practice.
So, if you are planning to have your own EMR system for practice, before buying the software the first thing that should be done is selection of the right EMR vendor. Following are the few points which will give you a guideline in carrying out the market research:
1. Checking the track record:
Evaluation of an EMR vendor can be done by reviewing their track record. Read the testimonials about their services and their success stories, this will help you in sorting out the right one for your requirements. Think of the EMR vendor as your partner and take a short interview before making up the final decision. Check the company history and their mission statement about the running business.
2. Evaluate your needs:
Before looking for an EMR vendor and getting confused with the services and features that they are offering, Make a clear list of what services and features that you actually require. This can be done by comparing it with the existing services you have implemented. This will save a lot your time once your clear with your depends or the type of system u want.
3. Consultation:
Before opting for EMR software, consult with different physicians who have been using the software for quite some time. Also, if you have any particular vendor in mind, check their clients and then compare and contrast with other vendors. Getting an opinion for complicated software like EMR is always beneficial in the long run.
4. Keep your questions ready:
Once you have evaluated your needs, and you are ready to go into the EMR market, make sure you have handful of important questions that are needed to ask. These questions can range from basic services to the more complicated ones including training procedures and the long term benefits. These Q/A sessions are extremely important because this would determine not only your commitment to your practice but also the efficiency of the vendor.
5. Training Issues:
Training is the backbone of the proper implementation of EMR system. Ask the vendor about their terms and conditions they are offering for training session. Learn about the onsite and online training manuals and demos. And also ask the vendor about the operating system and your requirements.
6. Manage your results:
After doing your market surveys write down your results. Don’t jump to any conclusions. It is wise to get back to your sales team or your staff, consult with them before making any final decision to proceed with a particular vendor. Also consider the differences very carefully because a physician with a newly established medical practice would be having different needs than the one who has been in business for a long time.
Daniel Ray MD Healthcare
EMR
EHR Systems
Apple Puts Medical Records in Pockets
People board planes by waving their phones, as do grocery store customers as they push their carts away from the check stand. Now your patients will wave their phones when asked about their medical record with a new tool from Apple. This is the latest in several efforts by government and industry to make medical […]
AAPC Knowledge Center
Moving to Electronic Medical Records – Pros and Cons
If you’ve been to a new doctor’s office lately, you may have had the experience of having the medical assistant use a computer to record all of your symptoms and complaints. It’s also quite likely that the doctor also used a computer to make his or her notes, order tests and perhaps even fax your prescription directly to your pharmacy. Welcome to the world of electronic medical records, also known as EMRs.
As we begin to rely on technology more and more, it seems inevitable that we’d eventually develop electronic medical records. Some organizations have embraced them wholeheartedly, while other doctors resist using EMRs. In addition, patients are divided between loving the convenience of these new systems and worrying about their privacy. But what are the pros and cons of using EMRs?
In theory, EMRs would reduce medical errors. Doctors have infamously horrible handwriting, and an electronic record would eliminate any problems due to legibility. An error could still be made by checking the wrong box in a form for example, but EMRs have programs in place to help catch these types of errors. On the other hand, EMRs can be too limiting in the case of patients who have multiple conditions or whose conditions don’t fit neatly into the record’s pre-established criteria.
In addition, the volume of paper medical records can grow considerably over time until they becomes quite bulky. Paper degrades and there’s the ongoing problem of increasing storage requirements. EMRs, on the other hand, can always be stored in a small amount of space.
Paper medical records are also subject to loss from fire, flood damage or other emergency. While EMRs may also fall prey to such hazards, it’s easier to backup electronic data and store it off site so that it can be recovered in the event of a disaster.
When a patient’s records are in paper form, it can be harder to get copies of all documents to the various sites where they are needed. When the records are contained in an EMR, the information can be more easily accessed. On the other hand, there is, at present, no standardization among EMRs. If you use providers who aren’t part of the same system and use different EMR formats, it can be hard to transfer information from one record to another.
Access to an EMR is also a major privacy issue. Patients worry that computer systems can be hacked and wireless networks aren’t always secure. For this reason, it’s far easier to steal information from an EMR than from a paper medical record. Patients also worry that sensitive medical data could be used inappropriately, such as when applying for a job or admission to college. While it’s against the law to discriminate, when it comes to this type of information, once it’s been seen, it can’t be forgotten. As medical information becomes more advanced – including genetic information, for example – people have even more reason to worry that the information will wind up in the wrong hands.
Finally, when a health care provider is busy entering information into an EMR, it can be easy to ignore the patient or reduce the patient interview to a series of questions designed to allow the doctor to tick off the appropriate boxes. The practice of medicine is still an art, and some patient advocates argue that EMRs could detract from the human side of the equation.
The author writes for Eat Healthy Live Healthy, an online resource that helps you lead a more healthy life. It covers many topics, including nutrient density.
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CPC-A Billing/Coding/Medical Records
CPC-A interested in a part-time opportunity working with a medical coding, billing, or medical records team. Please see the attached resume for more details and contact information.
President Obama Continues to Push For Electronic Medical Records
In his Plan for a Healthy America, Presidential candidate Barack Obama called for lowering costs through investment in electronic health information systems at the Federal level, acknowledging that paper-based medical records are cumbersome and error-prone. In several of his stump speeches, he drummed home the point that processing paper claims was also twice as expensive. While still a candidate, he pledged to invest $ 10 billion a year through 2013 to move the U.S. health care system, a juggernaut if there ever was one, towards a broad adoption of standards-based electronic health care systems, including electronic health records.
In his December 8, 2008, radio address, President-elect Obama discussed his extensive plans for stimulating the economy. Included in his plans was a significant investment in EMRs. “In addition to connecting our libraries and schools to each other through the internet, we must modernize our health care system. This won’t just save jobs – it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor’s office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.”
As President Obama’s February 2009 stimulus package neared its historic passage, the President gave a speech in Washington, D.C. continuing his clarion call for providing electronic patient records throughout the United States within the next five years. Explained the President in the impressive oratory style that has already come to define him, “To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized. This will cut waste, eliminate red tape, and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests. But it just won’t save billions of dollars and thousands of jobs – it will save lives by reducing the deadly, but preventable, medical errors that pervade our health care system.”
On this issue of EMR, Barack Obama has remained as steadfast as a straight arrow.
David York is with Fox Meadows, a provider of electronic medical records software, EMR Software, and medical billing software. Learn more by visiting http://www.foxmeadows.com.
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Electronic Medical Records – Most Doctors Say No
The Obama administration will be devoting billions of dollars to promote electronic medical records (EMR) for doctors. Today, EMR vendors run in and out of doctors’ offices trying to hawk their software. Each one claims to be the holy grail of electronic records. I admit that the concept seems intoxicating.
The promise of a paperless office is certainly seductive. The notion of physicians and patients having access to their medical records from any computer would improve medical quality and efficiency. Every doctor knows how frustrating it is to see a patient in the emergency room when the relevant medical records are sitting in the primary doctor’s office or in a hospital across town. Conversely, EMR permits the primary physician, who may not have been the hospital treating physician, to be easily updated after hospital discharge when the patient returns to his office. Many patients I see today in my office don’t know their medications and can’t recall prior illnesses or even operations. EMR solves this issue.
EMR also permits easy analysis of patient data to track important medical benchmarks including colon cancer screening, Pap smears, immunizations, mammograms and other preventative tests. Doctors like me who still use paper, rely on old fashioned methods to track who is due for a screening colonoscopy. EMR technology could permit our office to contact all patients who reach the milestone age of 50 alerting them that their colon cancer screening experience is beckoning. This would be superior to our current manual mail & call technique. EMR also eliminates the frustration of a missing medical chart. Electronic files are also more current, since data is entered much faster than paper reports. Sending medical records to other physicians’ offices could be accomplished with a keystroke, which traditionally can take weeks. EMR also eliminates the inscrutable penmanship of physicians, which at times needed CIA code breakers to decipher.
With EMR, patients could have their complete medical data, including EKGs and actual x-ray images on a personal flash key. With this technology, a doctor on a cruise ship could see your chest x-ray from 2 weeks ago.
Over time, EMR saves money by improving office efficiency, reducing repeating medical tests and reducing postage expenses.
If this system promises physicians a medical utopia, then why doesn’t every doctor sign up? The New England Journal of Medicine reported in their April 16, 2009 issue only 17% of physicians is using some degree of EMR in their offices. Hospitals are much further behind in acquiring these systems. Chances are that your physician hasn’t pulled the EMR trigger yet either.
Michael Kirsch, MD is a full time practicing physician and freelance author. He writes about the joys and challenges of medical practice including controversies in the doctor-patient relationship, medical ethics and measuring medical quality. When he is not writing, he is performing colonoscopies. For more articles on this subject, visit: http://mdwhistleblower.blogspot.com/
Some Ways to Keep Your Electronic Medical Records Plan Moving Ahead
The most common question I get writing this column is: ‘Why is it taking so long to implement electronic medical records?’ Our initial 18-mo project turned out in about three years, instead. Though this seems a bit cautious to some colleagues, people in IT and project management industries commended our careful approach to the situation. It’s well-known that Internet Technology system implementations (such as EMR) fail up to 50 percent of the time. A solid plan must be in place, taking into account any unforeseeable circumstances which could change the time frame. For example, our journey included two new associates, two hurricanes, and a departure of an associate.
Your electronic medical records vendor should be able to refer someone to guide you through implementation. However, this person can be either a person with EMR experience or someone who knows about the system itself, though not so much about roll-out at a medical office. I strongly recommend taking on the services of a certified PM (Project Manager). One important thing a PM can do is turn your project into a dynamic process which can take a series of setbacks or delays. The standard calendar can’t really do much to ensure this sort of follow-through.
We first implemented a Project Manager to plan the location for our new office. Our employees could use what was learned from the process, which includes how to use mind-mapping software. We have used these techniques for all major projects at our practice since then, including implementation of the electronic medical records (EMR).
For meetings and other minor projects I recommend Getting Things Done by David Allen.
The primary advantage of using a work breakdown structure is that any glitches that pop up don’t completely ruin your goal to successfully implement the EMR system. Of course, at a small practice there is more schedule flexibility. A hard deadline should most certainly be set, as part of the plan for EMR roll-out. However, with a proper plan structure your plan can roll on with the punches instead of simply rolling over.
When we finally arrived a a place when staff had training, we posted the hard deadline to go live. There was a simulation date on a Saturday which occurred two days before launch; both dates were mandatory to attend.
Although theoretically we could have pushed the launch date back, these dates helped to keep us working together and exposed risks that were faced. Now we’re about 5 months into our roll-out. The stress levels have begun to settle a bit, and we’re now tweaking our templates and getting ready for the next wave of patients to introduce to electronic medical records.
Peter J. Polack, M.D., F.A.C.S., is founder of emedikon, a medical practice management consulting firm and president of Protodrone, a software development company specializing in medical practice applications. He is managing partner of Ocala Eye, a large multi-specialty ophthalmology practice. Find more useful articles and podcasts at http://www.medicalpracticetrends.com
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Electronic File Cabinet For Medical Records
Choosing an electronic file cabinet for medical records has become popular over the last several years. Having paper files for patients in medical offices can take up a lot of space; especially if your medical practice expands with more patients. Plus, the time to retrieve patients files on a daily basis can be very time consuming when there are many other duties and responsibilities that need to be done. Health professionals will definitely want to research for a great document management software program to fit their needs.
There are many advantages of having a good electronic file cabinet. You will have the opportunity to import, store, find, and edit your documents right at your fingertips. Any paperwork you have, you will be able to scan them and, in turn, will go into an electronic in box. At that point, your document management system will allow you to file it in its proper place. It will be organized, stored and if you need to retrieve it, you will have easy accessibility to do that. You will be able to store all types of paperwork together no matter what format or file type.
So, if you have scanned copies, typed letters, drawings, emails and other documentation, they can be stored together in a patients file. When it comes to finding a particular file or piece of paper, you will be able to retrieve it quickly within seconds saving you much time. Editing will be quite easy as well. If you need to forward medical records onto another facility and there is some confidential information on there, you will be able to block parts of the document. You will be able to add or change information to any paperwork as well.
As you can see, there are many benefits to using this type of software program for more organized filing; especially medical records. This will ensure patients files are not misplaced or misfiled. Plus, you will be able to control security access of who is authorized to the files and what information they are allowed to have access to.
Take the time to research a few companies that have document management software systems. You will be able to find one that will be suitable for your business needs at an affordable price. Remember, you will save on money in the years to come with just less paper to purchase, file cabinets and storage space. Many medical professionals are using the electronic file cabinet to keep track of their patients in an organized and safe manner.
To learn more about electronic file cabinet, please visit our website.
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EMR: Electronic Medical Records
Prior to the advent of this system, the only method available with the medical practitioners was the preservation of records on paper. The paper work posed some very serious challenges. The records preserved in the paper format were almost unable to browse if the title of a certain required file was not present since all the other information regarding a case was in a file that can be found if its title was known. The records preserved in the paper formats also needed a lot of paper and even more space to preserve these records. The musty record rooms and molds growing therein often tampered or sometimes mutilated the papers. A patient’s file could only contain a limited years of his medical history as preservation of each patients life-long span would need tens or may be hundreds of files. The study of these records, often, needed a visit to the record-room or a special instruction to the staff member to fetch these. The transportation of these records as often required, in case the patient is to be shifted at some other hospital or health care facility was not only pretty expensive, rather it also involved hours of process amidst the hectic daily routine. There would often be a separate diary for the doctor of his/her assistant to give appointments.
The electronic medical records (EMR) has not only resolved all these problems, thanks to technology. Now even life-long long records of all the patients can be saved in a laptop. Not only this but these records can also be viewed from any place in the world using internet. There is an absolute safety as the back-up copy of the software can be used to retrieve the data, even in case if the software is deleted or tampered with. The law requires all the medical facility
EMR, an abbreviation for Electronic medical records, is a a system that is employed by a lot of hospitals, healthcare units, and medical practitioners practicing independently. This system allows the medical treatment providers to maintain a digital computerized records of the patients.
Prior to the advent of this system, the only method available with the medical practitioners was the preservation of records on paper. The paper work posed some very serious challenges.
health,emr,medical records,software
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