Physicians believe that a major pitfall of an electronic medical record (EMR) is the fear that they will lose patient data during the EMR transition. They believe it is impossible to scan all patient charts into an EMR without error. Many physicians are proud of their thorough documentation, which is evident by their 3 inch wide charts.
Unfortunately this thought process does not help when the government is mandating that physicians adopt an electronic health record (EHR). Many physicians have stated that they would rather quit practicing medicine than change their workflow and use an EHR.
The reason I am telling you this is because there are solutions to your scanning fears. There are certain scanners that will enable you to transfer all of your paper charts into electronic charts safely. There are some mobile scanners that are smaller that only require simple maintenance. There are scanning companies that will do this for you as well, so you do not need to spend your time transferring all of the documents.
Remember – a computer is faster than a human. You are able to retrieve charts and print out documents quicker than retrieve paper charts. An EMR/EHR will enhance your workflow. EMRs are not always bad.
Tags: ehr, electronic health record, electronic medical record, emr
3 Comments
ICMCC News Page » A Disadvantage of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) - Aug 24, 2009
[...] Article EHR Scope Blog, 23 august 2009 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “A Disadvantage of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)”, url: “http://articles.icmcc.org/2009/08/24/a-disadvantage-of-electronic-medical-records-emrs/” }); [...]
Larry Hunt - Aug 24, 2009
The concern about losing patient chart images and documents is a valid one to some extent whether you scan internally or use a service. Over the next few months as momentum builds for EMR/EHR application implementation Physicians will be bombarded by companies selling EMR capture products and services. Anyone who has a scanner and a garage will think they can service this industry and scan patient charts. Be prepared, these overnight experts will most likely loose documents and more, for if anything pure lack of experience. Beware of off shore companies that want to process your data and images for you. Without patients permission you can not use an offshore processor because their records and data will be at risk and you will be at risk because of in most of their judicial systems exposing these records is not a crime. Look for established local and regional companies with years of experience in providing document management products and scanning services of all types, especially those that require sensativity and security, so you know who has and where your records are at all times. Ask for a copy of their Business Associates Agreement. If they don’t know what it is than move on because they don’t know HIPAA requirements. Make sure their facility and employees are trained on handling patient charts and data or at least sensative documents. This includes tracking of any activity or access to the Patient Chart. The who, what, when and why when handling your patients chart. Ask to see examples of the quality of their work, procedures manuals, employee NDA’s and Confidentiality Agreements and document storage logs at the very least. In 15 years, we have yet to lose a single client document because the required controls and procedures exist and are in place. This is how you mitigate the concern over loosing patient records.
Mike Hawkins - Aug 24, 2009
Larry, is right on the money here. There are many folks claiming they can scan charts, but make sure they have a track record of successful conversions. I would also add that before you chose a service to ask for references and get their feedback on not only the scanning service company but how the implementation of the conversion affected their day to day business.
Optiscan Inc., our company, has successfully converted may large cardiology and gastro practices in the Phoenix area. We work with the practice to make sure the preparation, scanning and import into EMR systems are well understood and minimize impact on practices day-to-day business.
Mike Hawkins
Business Development
Optiscan Inc.
http://www.optiscan.net/medical.php