Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008 - (Page 39)

LESSONS LEARNED ‘MY EMR NIGHTMARE … AND WHY I’D DO IT AGAIN’ B Y D A L E A L S A G E R, D O, P H D I WAS AN EASY SALE FOR A FIRST-GENERATION EMR, AND I MORE THAN PAID FOR IT WITH MY INEXPERIENCE. It was a typical gray Seattle day in fall 1996. Earlier in the year I had launched my ﬁrst solo family-medicine practice, and I was operating two ofﬁces — a rural clinic in MapleValley, Wash., and my main ofﬁce in Bellevue, 30 miles away. I was attending a CME event sponsored by my local medical association during which software vendors were invited to demonstrate their latest EMR products. As I watched one local vendor effortlessly glide a mouse-driven cursor across a large overhead screen portraying an electronic medical record desktop, I could easily visualize my own medical desk in electronic form. The system’s capabilities were impressive. It could record patient labs, medical histories, and medications. I could print out prescriptions, record insurance demographics, generate patient reminders, review practice protocols, and beneﬁt from other common EMR features. By the end of that afternoon, I was convinced that EMRs were the wave of the future, and I wanted to be there for the ride. I looked upon acquiring an EMR as a solution to the never-ending frustration of missing charts, missed dictations, and misﬁled chart notes. Since I was new to the technology, one of the most important factors in my purchasing decision was that the system I bought be sold and serviced by a local company within close proximity to my ofﬁce. I assumed such a company could more easily provide access to training and backup services. I was an easy sale. I accordingly chose a local vendor, and it negotiated a system design that it said would best suit my needs. “Will the system accommodate WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM the uniqueness of my practice — an osteopathic family practice — serving two locations?” I asked. “No problem,” replied the salesperson. “The two clinics will talk to each other over a telephone line so that charts can be accessed from either location.” The server would be located at the Bellevue office, and I was told it would coordinate all electronic data to workstations at both locations. The ﬁnal price was an eye-popping $45,000. Arranging ﬁnancing was amazingly easy. I signed a one-page lease agreement filled with fine print, and within a few days everything was a go. Over the next two weeks, the vendor’s installation technicians were in my Bellevue ofﬁce measuring, wiring, installing workstations, and setting up the servers — as in plural. I was now told that two servers were going to serve two systems — my newly purchased EMR and the practice management system I bought from the same vendor. I expressed surprise at this twoserver approach, and I was told: “Oh, no problem, they talk to one another through a practice management system (PMS) link. That way the electronic medical records pass information to the PMS, and billings can then be generated directly from patient encounters.” TECHNOLOGY GUIDE | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | 39 http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008

Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008 TG Cover Story: Protect Your Practice and Sleep Better Operations: Paperless? Not Quite The Internet: You've Got Mail...Or Do You? Patient Relations: Attention Grabbers The Tech Doctor: All About Blogs Lessons Learned: 'My EMR Nightmare...And Why I'd Do It Again' Scheduling: No More No-Shows The Marketplace: Who's Got Your Back IT Enhancement: Time, at Last, for an Upgrade? Online: 'Yup, I'm a Junkie. And Proud of It.' In the Office: New Technologies in the Workplace: Blessing or Curse? Web Surfing: If You Build It...

Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008

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