Another physician with an EMR
I have known Dr. Smith for quite some time, and recently I got a chance to visit his practice again. As soon as I entered his practice, I could simply not ignore the drastic changes that his practice had undergone. The reception area was more organized than what I had experienced a few months ago; shelves once filled with huge stacks of paper and files were now empty. More importantly, the practice now had fewer staff to manage daily operations.
Upon inquiring, Dr. Smith told me that he had adopted Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for his Practice. Considering the increasing trend of EMR adoption, it was not surprising at all that yet another colleague I knew had started using an EMR. Hence, I thought, it was essential to discuss the reasons behind the enhanced adoption of this technology.
Before I could ask a question, Dr. Smith uttered, “I must say, electronic medical records have entirely changed the dynamics of the healthcare industry. Digitization of information has not only eliminated the conventional, error prone, documentation techniques but also have aided in increasing the ease of accessibility.”
Upon inquiring, Dr. Smith told me that he had adopted Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for his Practice. Considering the increasing trend of EMR adoption, it was not surprising at all that yet another colleague I knew had started using an EMR. Hence, I thought, it was essential to discuss the reasons behind the enhanced adoption of this technology.
Before I could ask a question, Dr. Smith uttered, “I must say, electronic medical records have entirely changed the dynamics of the healthcare industry. Digitization of information has not only eliminated the conventional, error prone, documentation techniques but also have aided in increasing the ease of accessibility.”
As he explained, I could not disagree with what he said. With electronic medical records in practice, providers no longer have to go through the tedious process of documenting encounters over and over again. All they need to do is point and click, and the rest is done by the EMR itself. More importantly, this procedure does not disrupt the existing workflows. Moreover, the availability of pre-defined order sets assist physicians in documenting encounters for patients visiting with similar problems. This effectively saves time, which providers can eventually utilize to abridge the physician-patient communication gap.
“With my EMR operating properly, I now save more time to interact with my patients. Honestly speaking, this technology has also saved me from clerical work”, said Dr. Smith.
As the conversation continued, we talked about how the clinical decision support system in EMR has enabled physicians to deliver utmost quality of care. With the built-in preventive care mechanism, electronic medical records automatically inform the physician about any harmful drug interactions that the patient might encounter – ultimately enhancing patient safety.
Having discussed the advantages of EMR adoption, I was convinced with the role IT plays in healthcare industry without a doubt. With such technology in place, storing, editing, and retrieving useful information have become easier than ever before. Considering future prospects, it was not difficult for me to decide that buying an EMR was the next investment I had to make for my practice.
“With my EMR operating properly, I now save more time to interact with my patients. Honestly speaking, this technology has also saved me from clerical work”, said Dr. Smith.
As the conversation continued, we talked about how the clinical decision support system in EMR has enabled physicians to deliver utmost quality of care. With the built-in preventive care mechanism, electronic medical records automatically inform the physician about any harmful drug interactions that the patient might encounter – ultimately enhancing patient safety.
Having discussed the advantages of EMR adoption, I was convinced with the role IT plays in healthcare industry without a doubt. With such technology in place, storing, editing, and retrieving useful information have become easier than ever before. Considering future prospects, it was not difficult for me to decide that buying an EMR was the next investment I had to make for my practice.