Comments on: Op-ed: Why doctors still balk at electronic medical records http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at.html medical blog Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:50:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: former kaiser employee http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at.html/comment-page-1#comment-110404 former kaiser employee Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:37:48 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at-electronic-medical-records.html#comment-110404 Kaiser Permanente's "HealthConnect" debacle has cost, thus far, at least $6B. Kaiser reports that they have 14,000 physicians. So, it has thus far cost approximately $420,000 per physician. Granted, KP HealthConnect does include a few other applications (patient scheduling, billing system that doesn't work, and inpatient pharmacy application) but $420K per doctor seems to indicate a tremendous amount of fiscal mismanagement must have taken place. Has anyone else ever heard of a $6B packaged software implementation? Kaiser Permanente’s “HealthConnect” debacle has cost, thus far, at least $6B. Kaiser reports that they have 14,000 physicians. So, it has thus far cost approximately $420,000 per physician.

Granted, KP HealthConnect does include a few other applications (patient scheduling, billing system that doesn’t work, and inpatient pharmacy application) but $420K per doctor seems to indicate a tremendous amount of fiscal mismanagement must have taken place.

Has anyone else ever heard of a $6B packaged software implementation?

]]> By: Stephen Holland, M.D. http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at.html/comment-page-1#comment-109976 Stephen Holland, M.D. Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:05:35 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at-electronic-medical-records.html#comment-109976 Sam's comment about the VA being a place where nothing good is done is a knee-jerk reaction of ignorance. The VA does some things quite well. Records management is actually quite good. The VA EMR is one of the best I have used. It is available 24/7/365 and any patient ever seen at any VA has records available evrywhere. It is also much better in data entry than any other system. It handles multiple types of data and it is not too much of a pain to navigate around from note to note. Additional things the VA does well is large multi-center trials, outpatient drug program, and a good long term chronic care program. Sam’s comment about the VA being a place where nothing good is done is a knee-jerk reaction of ignorance. The VA does some things quite well. Records management is actually quite good. The VA EMR is one of the best I have used. It is available 24/7/365 and any patient ever seen at any VA has records available evrywhere. It is also much better in data entry than any other system. It handles multiple types of data and it is not too much of a pain to navigate around from note to note.

Additional things the VA does well is large multi-center trials, outpatient drug program, and a good long term chronic care program.

]]> By: dennis http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at.html/comment-page-1#comment-109227 dennis Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:34:23 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at-electronic-medical-records.html#comment-109227 Like many things in life when the practicality of economics and cost, a lot of things that could do good are thrown by the wayside. Definitely sad. Like many things in life when the practicality of economics and cost, a lot of things that could do good are thrown by the wayside.

Definitely sad.

]]> By: Samuel Hunter http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at.html/comment-page-1#comment-91431 Samuel Hunter Sat, 23 May 2009 19:13:51 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2008/10/op-ed-why-doctors-still-balk-at-electronic-medical-records.html#comment-91431 To put forward the VA as a model of anything is ridiculous. Only someone who is completely ignorant of the VA or on their payroll would propose to model anything after this disastrous government agency. Anyone who gets the meager services of the VA tries to get duplicative and better services from outside the institution if they can. It ends up serving as a very expensive pharmacy for generic durgs. Nothing can go in in terms of medical records, and nothing gets out. There is zero accountability for providers. When I screen physician resume's, I immediately toss those who worked in a VA for a number of years, as I know they will be mediocre and really not care about quality care. To put forward the VA as a model of anything is ridiculous. Only someone who is completely ignorant of the VA or on their payroll would propose to model anything after this disastrous government agency. Anyone who gets the meager services of the VA tries to get duplicative and better services from outside the institution if they can. It ends up serving as a very expensive pharmacy for generic durgs. Nothing can go in in terms of medical records, and nothing gets out. There is zero accountability for providers. When I screen physician resume’s, I immediately toss those who worked in a VA for a number of years, as I know they will be mediocre and really not care about quality care.

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