Is there such a thing as being too small to benefit from technology? If you run a small medical practice, at what size will you begin to reap the largest paybacks?
Study after study are showing the benefits of using electronic health records (EHRs) instead of its paper record predecessor are many:
- It improves health practice efficiencies and can offer substantial cost savings
- It improves coordination of patient care
- It improves accuracy of diagnoses and potential outcomes
- It provides patient access to participate in their own care
And its not just the large practices that will benefit. If you have a patient, if you run an office, if you make referrals to other specialists, moving into the digital world has its benefits.
Close to two-thirds of practices across the US are considered small in nature, with less than 10 people on staff. If this sounds like you, what can you truly expect by implementing EHRs into your practice?
Paper Reduction
Lets start with the basics. Paper causes problems. When physicians or assistants handwrite medical records, the information may be subjective at best. Notes can be misread. Papers can become torn, warn, or even lost. Paper is also easily destroyed, expensive to copy, transport and store, and makes retrieval difficult as time passes. Its also important to note that paper records have been known to go missing as much as 25 percent of the time, meaning xray or lab results may be ordered again and again as diagnosis is made.
EHRs allow easy navigation of an entire medical record from beginning to end. When multiple people throughout the office can access a record at the same time, information can quickly be added and filled in without the wait time associated with paper records. Instead of putting off paperwork until the end of the day, doctors and assistants can make notes immediately, putting more thought and detail into each entry. EHRs can also be used to establish alerts and reminders, and help keep better track of a patient’s diagnosis and plan, to be better informed and provide better care as time passes.
Improved Efficiency and Productivity
When records are kept in paper format, its difficult to share information with patients, with other medical offices, and even with other doctors or assistants within your own practice. By digitizing records, the process becomes as simple as hitting send.
Consider simple lab work for a moment. Once the doctor makes a request, the request will travel from doctor, to assistant, to office clerk, to assistant, to lab technician, then flow back for results. It may touch other hands, going to a specialist who reads the results, and ultimately to the patient who may have to use it for future referrals. With that many touches, its easy to get lost in transition, and to have mixed messages about its original intent. With clarification written in electronic format, every person can see and review the original orders, and make notes at the time of processing, leaving nothing to chance.
And that’s just the start.
As our health care requirements change with new regulation, mandates will continue to demand the use of EHRs. As a health care provider, its easy to come on board and see the potential benefits. But its another thing to know where to begin.
Choosing A System
As a small practice, coming on board with the idea of implementing an EHR system into your office is the easy part. Next comes the task of doing. With hundreds of choices between EHR programs on the market today, where do you start? What do you look for? How do you know if your infrastructure is adequate for the system you choose? What are the best features and functions, when each program begins to sound a little better than the one before? How do you implement it into your office? How much time will it take?
If you’ve done a little research, chances are you can even add a few questions of your own.
The best place to start is by talking with your staff; what features would benefit them most? Create a list of functions performed every day within your office. Then begin dividing the list into “must have” and “nice to have” features.
Implementation will take several months, depending on the system chosen, the number of employees in the office, and the existing systems that will need to be modified or replaced. If you have any questions as you go through this process, I’d be happy to lend a hand.
