“Electronic records should improve efficiency and hopefully reduce medical costs,” said Dr. Robert L. Duffy, assistant professor family medicine at USA. “Office staff will no longer spend hours searching for or filing charts, which frees up time to care for patients.”
According to Dr. Duffy, who is leading a small group overseeing implementation, the EHR concept is important for several reasons. “With EHR software, nothing will be illegible,” he said. “No scrap of paper will slip off a chart or get folded up under another page to be overlooked. Also, charts won’t get lost.”
Dr. Duffy said there are also opportunities that go beyond the single visit to improve patient care. “Disease management guidelines and reminders can be built in as prompts to providers,” he said. “Drug interactions and allergies can automatically be brought to the attention of the healthcare provider.”
The software also provides charts and graphs that allow the physician and the patient to better visualize trends and progress. Decision-making assistance can also be a component of the system, and medical records can be seen by your doctor from locations other than the office – at home for after-hour calls, or at the hospital.
One of the most important aspects of the EHR software is that it gives patients and doctors a way to communicate securely and privately.
“Patients can see their test results & other major components of their medical history, hopefully allowing them to participate more fully in their medical care,” Dr. Duffy said.
Dr. Duffy explained that although the software has many positives, it will not solve all of the problems in American medical care. “No tool is any better than the hand that is using it. And there are certainly significant start-up costs and growing pains,” he said. “But the concept holds so much promise that even if only a few of the potential benefits come to fruition, it will still be worth it.”
The proposed date for the EHR software to be implemented at the Family Medicine Center is May 4, 2010. Other departments will be phased in during the upcoming months.
