Monday, November 16, 2009
Little Benefit Seen, So Far, in Electronic Patient Records (NY Times)
The NY Times has summary of a study led by Dr. Ashish K. Jha, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study basically concludes that electronic patient records have done little to nothing to either improve information transfer or save money.
Is this surprising? Well, not to me. My practice has been at the forefront of instituting electronic patient records. All that I have discovered (after a number of years experience with electronic record keeping) is that I spend several hours each evening entering all the data into the electronic database. The vast majority of this information cannot be entered into the system by paraprofessionals or technicians. The net result is that my workday now begins roughly between 7 and 7:30 AM (depending on whether I have surgery scheduled) and ends at 9 or 10 PM. My experience seems to be no different that that encountered by my colleagues in other medical specialties. And although I am not a computer "geek", I am still comfortable with the software (which is more or less well-designed). But heaven help my fellow physicians who are not "computer literate". The experience is enough to force one into early retirement.
Electronic record keeping is not a panacea. But the medical software segment of the economy is certainly a growth industry.
Is this surprising? Well, not to me. My practice has been at the forefront of instituting electronic patient records. All that I have discovered (after a number of years experience with electronic record keeping) is that I spend several hours each evening entering all the data into the electronic database. The vast majority of this information cannot be entered into the system by paraprofessionals or technicians. The net result is that my workday now begins roughly between 7 and 7:30 AM (depending on whether I have surgery scheduled) and ends at 9 or 10 PM. My experience seems to be no different that that encountered by my colleagues in other medical specialties. And although I am not a computer "geek", I am still comfortable with the software (which is more or less well-designed). But heaven help my fellow physicians who are not "computer literate". The experience is enough to force one into early retirement.
Electronic record keeping is not a panacea. But the medical software segment of the economy is certainly a growth industry.
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