Electronic Medical Records and You

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Did you know that “Multispecialty physician practices spent an average of $20,693 per full-time-equivalent doctor in 2014, a 12% increase from the year before and a 34% increase from 2010 to try to keep up with the federal electronic health-record requirements”.  Many of you who read this know that the EMR does not really help patient care.  In fact, it impedes it.  You spend most of your time clicking on useless metric boxes.  You stare at the damn screen trying to find the right information.  After a while, you hate the thing. Of course, the business people who supposedly run healthcare understand that, right?  Well, here is Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, CEO of MGMA, to offer her opinion:

“The way patients ask for and receive care is changing. The increased use of technology can improve the quality of patient care by improving records management, optimizing workflow and meeting HIPAA compliancy requirements.”

Improve the quality of patient care?  How?  Does anyone out there think that improving records management, optimizing workflow and meeting HIPAA compliancy requirements makes your visit with a patient better?  Sure, you can debate that better records and better workflow allows you to see more patients but there is no proof you are giving a higher quality of care.  You see, these administrators just don’t get it.  What is “it”?  Well, it is that moving target called “quality”.  The way doctors define it, which is more in line with the way patients define it, is lightyears apart from how insurance companies, the government and the administrators define it. The way they define rhymes with shmore shmunny.  And Halee Fischer-Wright is a pediatrician.  You think she would know?  Alas, that is what happens to every doctor who turns to the dark side.