| One of the most cumbersome tasks in a medical | | | | complaints are "ticked" in the EMR, a template |
| office is the maintenance and storage of paper | | | | pops-up requiring only the fields to be completed |
| medical records. This statement rings true in all | | | | that pertain to the specific illness. Obviously, if the |
| medical practices rather it be dental, family | | | | complaint is a fall or bee sting, the template would |
| medicine, specialty practices, or a chiropractic | | | | be quite different, but only protocol pertaining to |
| office. But what most practice managers and | | | | the complaint would be visible. |
| physicians may not realize is that maintaining a | | | | Perhaps the most attractive benefit of adopting |
| paper medical record is also one of the most | | | | an EMR is the overall cost savings it generates. |
| costly administrative and clerical tasks in the | | | | The EMR virtually eliminates the cost of reams |
| office. | | | | and reams of paper, the off-site printing of forms |
| For years, medical offices have struggled with | | | | such as encounters or super bills, in-house printing |
| medical record documentation, as well as filing and | | | | of schedules, and the zillion copies of insurance |
| retention of literally volumes of paper records. | | | | cards and scripts. Some practices even decrease |
| They have been stored in costly medical record | | | | their payroll costs by implementing an EMR. |
| storage cabinets and when the volumes of | | | | Without the paper record there is no backend |
| records outgrow the office space, they are | | | | record maintenance, no finding, filing, or re-filing |
| purged and sent to off-site storage. | | | | charts, which equates to less labor requirements. |
| A major benefit of an electronic health record is | | | | There are many advantages of the EMR over |
| that record maintenance and storage problems go | | | | paper medical records, although currently it is |
| away. All medical histories, medication lists, chart | | | | estimated that 70% of medical offices have not |
| notes, labs, x-rays, reports, letters, and any other | | | | yet converted to an EMR. With the financial |
| form held in a paper record is either documented | | | | incentives being offered by the Medicare Program |
| directly into the EMR or scanned. | | | | and the addition of the Stimulus Package signed |
| Having patient records available at a few clicks of | | | | into law by President Obama, the percentage of |
| a mouse or touch screen, can be invaluable. Once | | | | medical offices adopting an electronic record will |
| a medical practice is trained and comfortable using | | | | rapidly increase in the near future. |
| their EMR, physicians and other care-providers | | | | Any medical office that has not yet begun |
| save time, and record documentation is greatly | | | | thinking about electronic implementation should |
| improved. Templates can be setup to mimic | | | | very seriously start researching EMRs to best fit |
| individual practice standards, or standard | | | | their practice. Eventually penalties will be assessed |
| templates can be utilized for the entire practice. | | | | to offices not in compliance with electronic health |
| For example, a template is setup for sore throat, | | | | record technology. |
| fever, and congestion. At intake when patient | | | | |