If your hospital hopes to seduce, coerce or pay off doctors to use its EMR, think again. Increasingly, doctors aren’t just resisting EMR use, they’re actually in the midst of a rebellion, suggests one healthcare IT executive.
The truth is, EMRs are inflexible, costly and force doctors to change the way they work — with little if any benefit to them, argues Shahid Shah, CEO of Netspective Communications. So they’re starting to push back, hard.
Hospitals have been in denial about this for quite some time. While doctors have been shouting their EMR issues for years, to date few hospital executives or public policy planners have been listening. (In fact, I saw an exec from Kaiser publicly insist that doctors love the new EMR.)
Shah’s bottom line? “[EMRs] are really created to improve the hospital administrators’ lives, get data to government agencies looking for comparative medicine, push paperwork through to insurance companies so that they can process claims faster, and many other “features” that don’t really do much for the doctor.” I couldn’t agree with him more. Sing it, brother!
Now, the really scary question: With billions of private and federal dollars committed to EMR spending, is it too late for the nation to back out?
My question: what do patients want?
Ken, excellent point. I don’t think there’s been nearly enough research on that subject — or if there is, it hasn’t been given enough attention. My guess is that patients want more access to data (such as lab values) which they more or less understand — whether that will come in the form of so-called “PHRs,” I couldn’t say.
Wild idea: Wouldn’t it be cool if patients could access a simple version of their chart using a screen based in their room (either inpatient or ED)? The same device could also allow them to play games, ping a nurse or learn more about the facility.
-Katherine
Hah! You’re suggesting that patients should be informed, entertained, comfortable, and connected. What a crazy concept.
I know — insane. Or, in the words of one of my favorite TV shows, Futurama: “It’s so plausible that I can’t believe it!”
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