Okay, be honest. How many of you are asking, ”I’ve got a lot to worry about these days – why should I add electronic medical records to the list?” Show of hands?
So maybe it’s not the most obvious subject to get bums in the seats on a brisk December morning, but consider this:
- Electronic Medical Records (or EMR) could make initiatives like chart audits easy -- virtually at the touch of a button.
- So far, Canada has lagged far behind comparable countries in its adoption of EMR.
- Funding has recently become available, suddenly shifting the business case for EMR, meaning that 2010 may be the year for many Ontario doctors who have been waiting to jump on the electronic bandwagon.
Rohit Prakash, Practice Solutions
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So what, exactly, are we talking about?
An Electronic Medical Record, or EMR, is simply an electronic version of a patient chart. It keeps track of all patient data collected by the physician: age, weight, blood pressure, risk factors, etc.
Because these data are stored digitally, it makes analysis and reporting easy; for example, a doctor could pull records on all patients with hypertension, or graph an individual patient’s blood pressure over time.
On its surface, the Electronic Medical Record is so simple as to be easily dismissed, but its power is revealed when we consider the impact of paperwork and record-keeping on a physician’s workday.
What can EMR do?
Electronic Medical Records completely change the doctor’s daily workflow. Prakash remembers a few years back, when his wife, a physician, would finish seeing patients at 5:30pm, but wouldn’t make it home until after 8:00pm. “The question is, what was she doing for those three hours?” he jokes.
Of course, she was reviewing the notes she had collected during each patient visit through the day, and translating those notes into actions (ordering labs, making referrals, etc.). EMR changes the structure of the workflow, automating the process so those actions are triggered electronically during the visit itself. When the patient leaves, “the encounter is finished.” “Practically,” says Prakash, “EMR allows doctors to bill more, while working fewer hours,” which represents a holy grail for physicians who would happily see more patients, but “they don’t have any more time to give.”
Theoretically, EMR also makes the elusive “Electronic Health Record” possible. The Electronic Health Record is a much more nebulous, ideal scenario, in which all healthcare providers have access to complete and current medical information on all the patients they treat. For example, an emergency physician attending to a patient presenting with shortness of breath would have instant access to his complete medical history, speeding diagnosis and avoiding contraindicated interventions.
We’re not there yet, but keeping medical records electronically is a necessary step toward making true Electronic Health Records possible.
Why has the time for EMR come?
Doctors know the shortcomings of their paper-based record systems. Yet, says Prakash, only 37% of Canadian physicians have adopted Electronic Medical Records to date. Although that’s up from 23% three years ago, it lags compared with 46% in the US and 99% in the Netherlands.
Realistically, though, it’s not a matter of whether Canada will embrace EMR, it’s a matter of when. The challenge facing each doctor is deciding when to make the leap. It’s not just a financial decision – when to invest in the software – but it’s also a tremendous (though temporary) disruption in the daily practice. Prakash says that according to his customers, “the first three months are hell on earth.” Eventually, it pays out in increased productivity, but no doubt those three months of hell are a bigger barrier for many physicians than the cost of the software itself.
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An incentive like that may very well be what Canadian physicians – a business-minded lot – need to make the leap.
What does it mean for me?
Given the numbers, it is likely that every physician on your rep’s target list has either implemented EMR, is considering it (perhaps with some trepidation), or has already begun the implementation process.
Just being aware of each physician’s “EMR status” is an important start. Know which of your targets have adopted EMR, and which are considering it or are in the process of implementing it. Among those in the “considering” camp, many may not be aware of the funding that has become available, and may appreciate a heads-up.
Once implemented, Electronic Medical Records become a new tool to help physicians find the best candidates for your treatment, or use their own patient data to prove to themselves how well it works. EMR makes a new breed of chart audit possible, and whether or not a target physician has EMR may in and of itself become a segmentation variable when implementing marketing programs.
Given the promise and growing pervasiveness of EMR in medical practices across Canada, it is sure to be a hot topic among your customers through 2010. And if it’s changing the way your customers are doing business, it’s only a matter of time before it changes the way you do yours.
About the Author
Rachel McCready is Creative Director at CPC Healthcare Communications. She can be reached at rmccready@cpchealthcare.com
About the OPMA Meetings Editor
Ben Carino is the Sales Manager at Pulsus Group Inc, a Canadian medical publisher. He will be serving the OPMA membership on the Board of Directors in 2010. He can be reached at b.carino@pulsus.com