News Article on Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Yes, we’ll all be driving electric cars someday, but in the meantime we need to have the best possible gas engines for functioning in the here and now.

So too with the concept of EMR and the lure of having a “paperless” department. But getting to EMR is an evolution involving significant time-frames and multiple barriers to be overcome. The process is actually one of “increasing” electronics rather than a quantum leap to all-electronic.

Some practice managers state “I don’t need to spend anything to upgrade my paper record system because we are going to go electronic.”
The promise of EMR should not cause us to do without the benefits of an improvedhard copy record system and operating more efficiently until all or part of the record evolves into electronic format. The largest budget item in any practice is “Salaries”, i.e. people’s time. The chart system therefore has a direct effect on this budget item.

Many other factors in the environment create pressure for expense control.

For example in Medical Oncology the Average Sales Price (ASP) determining reimbursement levels for chemotherapy drugs has introduced additional challenges.

ASP’s have the economic effect of requiring increased revenue and increased patient volume in order for the practice to remain solvent.

ASP’s result in the need to lower operating costs and to bring about greater efficiencythrough down sizing or other means. A well organized paper record can contribute positively here by becoming an organizational tool that makes the practice run more efficiently…..right away, no waiting period.

It is true that future EMR will automatically lower operating costs, improve
treatments, capture reimbursement and enhance many other functions.

However this is only half of Cost/Benefit Analysis. The other half of the picture
involves the cost of overcoming the hurdles and time-frames involved in implementing EMR.

An insightful January 2005 article in Hematology Oncology News & Issues listed five obstacles or hurdles to be addressed when deciding whether or not to implement EMR.

Initial Cash outlay is expensive.
The biggest cost however is the time it takes to change the way everyone does office work.
Choosing from more than 200 available systems is a major project.
Compatibility of systems that do not talk to one another is a problem.
Training and a serious lack of qualified personnel to understand the system and handle changes and upgrades, is an ongoing challenge.

When a practice decides to move forward with electronics, a highly organized paper record system will contribute as a “bridge” to implementation. Optimum paper organization working in synergy with electronics will enhance the evolutionary process towards EMR for any practice.

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