Can Electronic Medical Records Improve the Running of Your Practice?

As part of the modernization of health care in the United States,
the government has been very keen for more and more practices to
implement electronic medical records. So much so in fact that sizable
funding was granted towards health information technology as part of
the economic stimulus package in early 2009.The implementation of
electronic medical records on the face of it seems like an excellent
idea to help improve the day-to-day running of a practice. However,
some practice managers and doctors are put off by the initial cost of
implementing an electronic system, as well as the time and effort in
loading patient records in to it.When considering whether to introduce
an electronic system to the practice it is always worthwhile doing
some research beforehand. One of the best ways to do this is to talk
to other practices in the area that have already brought in an
electronic medical records system. Doing this may help to establish
the pros and cons of such a system.Seeing the system in action at
another practice and getting an honest assessment from your peers
about what is good and bad about it will help your decision. You can
evaluate whether having electronic medical records will be cost
effective for your practice. Seeing other systems will help you decide
which the best one is if you decide to go down that road.Many
practices using such a system believe it has improved their
productivity with simple access to patient records, history and
treatments, automated billing, easier reporting and remote working
capabilities amongst its benefits. Researchers also believe that
electronic medical records can lead to fewer errors being made and as
a result this reduces malpractice settlements for physicians.Cynics
may suggest that this research has been commissioned by the system
manufacturers. However, a Harvard study found that 6.1 percent of
physicians with electronic medical records had malpractice settlements
compared to 10.8 percent of those without such a system.As already
mentioned there are downsides to having an electronic system such as
the initial cost and set up of records. Some claim that the inputting
of data is slow and tedious, ultimately reducing productivity and
therefore having a negative effect on patient care.There is also the
issue of data security which is something everyone with an electronic
system has to be vigilant about. Identity theft is big business, so it
is critical for medical practices to develop very strong firewall
defences to protect their electronic records. Failure to do so could
be catastrophic for a practice both financially and in terms of
reputation.The bottom line is it is up to each medical practice to
weigh up whether they feel an electronic system will benefit them.
However, the short-term cost and work required may well lead to
long-term benefits for the practice.