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January 18, 2009From Group Practice Journal:
When Michael Maxwell, M.D., and his practice, Family Medicine of Port Angeles in Washington, adopted electronic medical records (EMRs) in 1998, the six-physician, single-specialty group became the fi rst in the Olympic Peninsula to shift away from paper charts. With managed care on the rise, the physicians felt buried with paperwork and referrals, which increased the demands on their time and resources.
“The handwriting was on the wall,” Maxwell recalls. “Initially, when we adopted [an EMR], it was for the effi ciencies. As that’s become second nature, we’ve turned our attention to the quality opportunities that an electronic medical record system off ers.” For that, he says, they rely heavily on performance metrics provided by a nationwide research network—the Practice Partner Research Network (PPRNet).
When combined with a research network, EMRs can do more than create cost savings and workflow efficiencies.
Read the full article: “Nationwide Research Network Expands the Value of EMRs“
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Yes… Most physicians believed the EMR has improved the quality of time with their patients and the quality of documentation in the records and EMR also seemed to have had a positive impact on the overall work environment, primarily in practices that had eliminated duplicate paper systems.