Gag orders and bad EMR systems

In a May 13 post over at EMRandEHR.com, Katherine Rourke wonders why lousy EMR user interfaces aren’t getting enough attention.  Two words come to mind: gag order.  People who have read my column for a little while probably know that I was a victim of a poorly constructed and run EMR system in late 2009-early 2010.  What can I say?   I was an EMR virgin.  When we finally fired the vendor in February 2010, in order to get any money back, I was required to sign and agree with a single piece of paper stating that I would not use the vendor’s name in public.
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Although my case is specific, and I have seen public posts about other vendors written by disgruntled users who obviously do not have such a restriction, I think this practice could be a contributor to problems with disseminating useful information about bad companies.
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Now, wouldn’t you like to know that vendor’s name?  Sorry, I can’t tell you.
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Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC. He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. West opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC, as a solo practice in 2009.  He can be reached at doctorwestindc@gmail.com.


About the author

Dr. Michael West

Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC. He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. West opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC in 2009. He can be contacted at doctorwestindc@gmail.com.

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