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According to a White House bulletin, President Obama laid out an outline of five "key areas" that his administration will pay particular attention to, one of which is EMR.
"...we will continue to invest in the cutting-edge research and development necessary for the innovation and discovery we need to meet the digital challenges of our time. And that's why my administration is making major investments in our information infrastructure: laying broadband lines to every corner of America; building a smart electric grid to deliver energy more efficiently; pursuing a next generation of air traffic control systems; and moving to electronic health records, with privacy protections, to reduce costs and save lives."
Policy discussion: I recently read an article in the Washington Post which states that the Veterans Health Administration operates the largest health-care system in our country and utilizes state-of-the-art records systems. Here's the excerpt:
There was no mention of the Department of Veterans Affairs' successful use of electronic medical records in the May 16 front-page story "The Machinery Behind Health-Care Reform."
The Veterans Health Administration operates the largest health-care system in the country and treats millions of veterans every year, all of whom benefit from the VA's state-of-the-art records system.
The VA's electronic medical records should be a model for care, yet they are rarely mentioned.
Citation: A Medical Records Model From Veterans Affairs, The Washington Post, p. A18 (May 23, 2009) (available in the Regional Edition)
Buffalo, NY - HEALTHeLINK, the Western New York Clinical Information Exchange, announced that it has reached formal agreements with Allscripts, eClinicalWorks, McKesson Corp., MedAppz LLC, NextGen and Pulse Systems, Inc. for the use of their technologies in local physician offices and other health care practices. The vendors have agreed to extend preferred community-based pricing to improve adoption rates.
HEALTHeLINK is a collaborative community-based approach to interoperability. Interoperability basically means the ability to move health care information safely and securely between a patient’s health care providers. Interoperability promotes collaboration and can help control healthcare costs (not to mention improving patient care!) HEALTHeLINK's vision is for Western New York to have an electronic system for real-time sharing of clinical information among health care professionals.
A new study, conducted by a research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA determined how patients feel about converting their records to EMR.
In this new technological era where Facebook and Twitter are dominant, physicians should rest assured that their patients will be (according to the study) very receptive to EMR technology. The study's lead author, Jan Walker, said patients not only want computers to bring them customized medical information, but fully expect to be able to rely on electronic technology in the future for many routine medical issues. The study found that patients want full access to all of their EMR, are willing to make some privacy concessions in the interest of making them transparent and fully expect that computers will play a major role in their medical care.
To read more on this study, click here
N.Y - Clinical Research used to take months. The process would require putting together a committee of physicians and data experts to begin an elaborate research review process. Fortunately, Montefiore Medical Center used electronic health records and some new analytic software to conduct the clinical research; many of these studies are now done by a single clinician in a matter of minutes. The software is called Clinical Looking Glass (according to the cited article below, the D.O.H is also using this software). The software taps into the pool of existing electronic medical records data. While I do not know the details with which the research is done, the lesson is, EMR data can also be utilized in research (another way to improve patient care!)
The article has case studies on how the analytics software was utilized, here are some examples:
-Quantifying The Reduction of Radiation Exposure for Patients in the ED
-Publishing Professional Articles on Topics From Embolisms to Hospitalists
-Measuring Impact of a Medicare Rule: A Policy Case Study
Citation: Clinical Research; Physicians Conduct Research Studies in Minutes, Not Months, at Montefiore Medical Center, Aging & Elder Health Week via NewsRx.com, p. 41 (May 24, 2009) (available in the Expanded Reporting Section)
Wikipedia is a great tool for IT professionals and users alike. It's a complete user-created page that anyone can edit (with the proper credentials).
I've found an excellent wiki on EMR, you'll notice that I linked it in other places throughout the website as well. I do this so that you can get an unbias perspective on EMR. Remember, the wiki highlights concerns, but many of these concerns are addressed by the big EMR companies. The key is for you to be aware of what is out there and how to manage your practice efficiently.
Click here
While the blog entry may be fairly old, it highlights the process behind running an efficient practice. Time is money and this practitioner highlights his hectic Mondays. Click here
eClinicalWorks has written an excellent synopsis on the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and the HITECH Act. Read the article to determine whether your practice can qualify for the stimulus plan.
Click here to read more
