Physicians Practice - September 2008 - (Page 65) TECH SURVEY NAVIGATING THE TECH MAZE B Y PA M E L A L . M O O R E HOW ARE YOUR COLLEAGUES AND RIVALS DOING IT? WE FOUND OUT. “If you implement [technology] correctly, it will make you money,” promises James Leavitt, a gastroenterologist in Miami. That’s a big “if.” But not too big for Leavitt’s practice. The staff there used its EMR to makeover its work flow, getting every physician on board. The result: more than a million dollars in return for the EMR investment. Many kudos to Leavitt. Unfortunately, many physicians are worried they won’t get similar results, according to the latest Physicians Practice annual Technology Survey, with 55 percent of respondents stating cost as the most pressing technology problem. Apparently, it’s not so much what technology actually does that matters — it’s the price of technology. IN SUMMARY Our fifth annual Technology Survey shows: • Cost of technology is physicians’ Number One concern. • Small groups are using EMRs at about the same rate as large groups, among our respondents. of all practices using an EMR actually dropped. more practices get EMRs. • For the first time ever, the percentage • Revised Stark rules aren’t helping • Voice recognition users love it, but adoption remains low — only 18 percent of physicians. • Physicians are using outdated practice management software, and guess what? They don’t like it. This is our fifth annual Technology Survey. Some things are the same today as when we started: The debate over whether EMRs pay off remains lively. Now, though, it’s pretty clear that it’s not the software itself that makes the difference between an EMR investment that works and one that fails. What matters is how well a practice implements its new system. The process — using EMR adoption as an opportunity to retool work flow and to break some long-held inefficient habits — is what counts. Here’s the rundown on what physicians like you are thinking about technology. Are you ahead of the curve or behind it? COST IS KING Cost is the top concern among our respondents, outranking EMRs, billing, and communicating with patients. (See “On Your Mind” chart on page 66.) In fact, the price of technologies, especially EMRs, evoked a strong reaction in our respondents. Can you hear the rage in these responses? Pamela L. Moore is editorial director for Physicians Practice. She can be reached at pmoore@physicianspractice.com. SEPTEMBER 2008 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM 65 http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM
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