the Acute Care Continuum
Is the integration of urgent, emergent, inpatient and post-discharge care of patients with acute medical conditions.
Steve Jobs knew that the key to Apple’s success was simplicity.
Apple products are painstakingly designed for simplicity. Updated Apple products are always better than their predecessor. If you question this, visit an Apple store at the release of the next iPhone or iPad.
Quite the opposite is true in the EMR-healthcare arena. The result: hospital executives are pressured to buy systems that “fit” into their existing IT platform regardless of physician usability. My intention is not to pile-onto the existing discussions about the 15-30% drop in productivity when EMRs are implemented. Unfortunately, I can attest to those numbers within our own organization (thus, the development of the scribe program).
The merits of the HITECH Act, the EHR Federal Mandate, and The Stimulus Package have been greatly discussed. I could argue that EMRs do not provide better patient care.
I want to know who will save physicians, hospitals and patients from the existing, pathetic breed of EMRs available today?
Recently, the Report on Medicare Compliance (from Atlantic Information Services) published an opinion article about the use of scribes in healthcare. The premise of the article was that hospital executives and physicians should re-examine the benefits of scribes because compliance risks grow when scribes are allowed to make entries into electronic health records. Furthermore, the article questioned the gains in physician productivity from scribe utilization.
Are these authors practicing physicians themselves? Do they understand the growing clinical pressures and demands placed on healthcare providers today? Have they ever used an EMR in an acute care setting (like an ED) where providers are expected to see upwards of 3 patients per hour? My guess is that they have not.
I believe that the authors are not only misinformed, but that their article will hinder the advancement of EMRs and the modernization of the healthcare workforce.
Enter your email address:
By Kevin Kruse While acute care hospitals are veterans in the fight to contain costs, healthcare reform is bringing greater focus to other aspects...
By Bruce Friedberg, MD The northern San Diego region is growing rapidly, and last year, Palomar Health unveiled a state-of-the-art hospital to meet...
By Mike Harrington About thirty years ago, I was an accountant for Arthur Young. One of my auditing clients was a young emergency...
By Ted Kloth, MD, FACEP The time is coming when consolidation and transparency will reign supreme, and the effects are already being felt throughout...
By Josh Sheridan, MD, MS The hospital system I work for has an ED and two Urgent Care Centers (UCCs) in the same city. Between the two UCCs, we serve...
Re: Who Will Rescue Healthcare and Solve The EMR Debacle? We Need Another Steve Jobs
golf marbella I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this web site....
Re: Healthcare's Evolution from Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon, and Beyond
I'm not sure the world is ready for Jimmy Fallon reviewing a CT Scan and dispensing advice! But if he...
Re: Your EMR Conversion: What Can Go Wrong (Often Did)
These are great tips! In the systems where I've supported EMR implementation one of the biggest challenges...
todocajas.com.ar That is very good comment you shared.Thank you so much that for you shared those things...
Re: All the World’s A Stage for this (Pay for) Performance
Acute care settings include but are not limited to: emergency department, intensive care, coronary care...