The Institute of Medicine identifies 5 clinical areas, among others, where EMR use improves the quality of healthcare for your patients*:
Ability to prescribe electronically
EMRs promise an efficient means for consistently integrating these tasks in your medical practice.
*Institute of Medicine - Key Capabilities of an Electronic Health Record System
2. Link all patient data into one convenient physician-friendly view.
How much time do you spend looking for patient data in their paper charts? Efficiency improvements through data integration are quietly revolutionizing the LTC industry.
3. Have networked physician tools at your fingertips.
Nursing homes are usually impoverished of physician-useful tools. Up to date drug encyclopedias, medication list availability, diagnostic code lists, laboratory results, patient and visitation schedule tracking, remote access and other tools are far from an exhaustive list. F-Tag references for physicians are EMR benefits not conveniently found in the usual nursing home practice.
4. You WILL optimize your revenue.
An efficient EMR will save documentation time and increase productivity, even in a fee for service model. Additionally, automated charge capture and diagnostic coding creates timely, consistently accurate charges for your billing service and third party payers. Initial cash flow reduction is mitigated by using the EMR on a small number of patients each day until proficiency is achieved.
5. You need to stay competitive.
Healthcare modernization has stimulated EMR use with growing expectations on physician practices from Medicare, insurance companies and patients to minimize medical errors, cut costs and improve the flow of medical information. Take a competitive advantage and the leadership role in your medical community by being the 'first on the block' to use these innovative tools to improve your patient care.
Gentry Dunlop, M.D., MBA has practiced geriatric medicine in Denver, CO since 1991. He is President/CEO of Mobile Physician Technologies, LLC and committed to implementing electronic medical record technology among nursing home providers to improve the quality of care for long-term care and assisted living residents. (www.par3emr.com)
