A little while back I got an email asking me if I was interested in writing an article for Medscape about “Choosing an EMR.” I figured that might be a fun experience considering I’d written so much about the topic of choosing an EMR on this blog that it would be pretty easy to do.
Luckily, all went well and they accepted the article that I wrote and published it to their site. I think the article turned out pretty good and offers some decent insight for someone interested in selecting an EMR. I think the selection process is probably the EMR industries biggest barrier to adoption right now. The technology is certainly there now, but there are just too many choices right now that it is really hard for a doctor to know which EMR is best for them. Unfortunately, many just choose to not make a decision and just continue on with paper charts. Hopefully this article will help a few doctors offices get on the right track and implement an EMR successfully.
In the end, it was a really fun experience going through the process of writing an article that’s going to be published. It’s much more difficult than writing about EMR on this blog. It took hours of work for me to write that article. I wanted to make sure that I provided significant value to the readers of the article and that I didn’t leave anything important out. By comparison, this post that I’m writing now won’t take more than 10 minutes. Blogging is better that way, because I know that my insightful readers will correct me if I post something that’s way off kilter.
At the end of the day, it’s really fun to see my writing published and my name alongside a contribution to the medical community. I also got a big kick the other day when I was helping one of my PA’s with something and I saw he subscribed to Medscape. Made me feel good that I was being published in what he considered to be a credible medical source.
One final thought, I’d love to hear people’s feedback on my article “Choosing an EMR.” Leave all your thoughts, good and bad, in the comments.
John,
good general information article on EMR. I would appreciate some guidance in the direction of those companies you alluded to that have affordable solutions for solo practicioners. Thanks again for a helpful overview.
Solo Surgeon in TN
MikeR,
There are certainly a lot to choose from. The 2 that I had in mind when I wrote the article is DoctorsPartner and Medtuity.
DoctorsPartner charges a monthly fee per provider so it matches the way a doctor generates revenue. I’ll let them do the rest of the sales pitch, but it’s currently my favorite EMR for its simple to use interface, pricing model and general feature set.
Medtuity charges on a per visit basis. It’s biggest challenge is that it is only an EMR and has no PMS. However, if you have a PMS system you like it might be a good alternative. The per visit charging method is pretty unique. I really like the guys behind this product and the way they approach development.
Hope this gives you some direction to start your search.