That’s an oxymoron. Very few digital medical records are truly paperless. One reason is the incompatibility between systems, meaning my system can’t integrate with other offices. Thus, consultant notes are still received via mail and manually scanned in.
To be sure, there’s a reduction of paper – but a long way to go before truly going paperless.
Related posts:
- Op-ed: Why doctors still balk at electronic medical records
- How the widespread adoption of electronic medical records can raise health care costs
- The unintended consequences of electronic records
- It’s time for every physician to adopt electronic medical records
- Paying doctors by the hour will increase the adoption of electronic medical records
- The slow adoption of electronic records
- Can Wal-Mart help doctors implement electronic medical records?
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The worst EMR in the industry is by far CERNER and their program POWER CHART. When ever a problem is enocutered with their product…there answer is “IT CAN’T be Done”. They always say that on the defense when you ask them or tell them about a problem with the program. The program requires too much “clicking” of the mouse and is NOT user friendly. IF I want to type something and go to the next line you have to hit control and enter…can you believe that????
Also with physician order entry…well when you order a BMP you have to specify that the specimen is blood and when onr orders a U/A you have to specify that the specimen is urine. It doesn’t give you any other choice to choose, however you have to manually enter that before the order is processed.
In essence, I can go on forever on why I hate cerner. And will always favor dictating my notes…in fact when I am done with my fellowship training, it will be in my contract with any organization that I can always dictate a note.
So how does this relate to paperless EMRs…which truely is an oxymoronic term…I think I use more paper typing a note using cerner. A standard clinic visit, which would have taken 1/2 a page for 1 or 2 problems easily prints out as 5 pages in a cerner clinic visit. Plus, I like to see the whole picture when I am evaluating someone and thus like to see everything at once instead of scrolling through several screens so I end up printing more then I would have if I had a paper record.
Whats sad about this…is that I grew up in the technology age where computers were everywhere.
EMRs maybe all teh buzz…they do NOT make a doctor’s life any easier what so ever. Just give me a pen and paper and a phone…and I will take it from there.
I 100% wish for cerner to go bankrupt.
By the way, the VA VISTA program is more user friendly (and much more low tech) then Cerner and I perfer that system to Cerner anyday.
IF we are to use EMRs effectively, there should be one system for everyone…hopsitals and clinics…that way when Bob moves from FL to WA his records are easily transferred. The VA system is free…it maybe low tech but it does a better job then Power Chart and Cerner.
Tony,
Completely agree with you and your take on the VA’s EMR. I have an upcoming op-ed piece discussing this exact issue.
K
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