Our next edition of EMR and EHR interviews covers the experience of Jan Patterson and the West Broadway Clinic’s path to meaningful use. The full EMR interview with Jan Patterson can be found on the new EHR and EMR interviews website. The following is a summary of that interview written by Kathy Bongiovi.
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West Broadway Clinic is one of the first clinics to show Meaningful Use. Jan Patterson, the office manager of West Broadway Clinic explained it was the clinic’s desire, from day one, to start using an EHR. The EHR certification is a vital piece for meeting the CME incentive requirements. Additionally the providers felt by using an EHR on day one they could ensure a continuity of care, regardless of which provider a patient might see in the clinic.
The clinic had heard about Cerner Corporation through one of the local hospitals. After interviewing several other vendors it felt that the integration of Cerner’s Practice Management System and Ambulatory EHR would suit its needs best.
West Broadway began using its EHR in May of 2008 and Patterson stated it was able to meet at least 9 of the meaning use requirements because of its EHR. Patterson felt two of the major factors contributing to meeting those requirements so easily were the elements already built into the EHR and the use of the Cerner EHR. As the clinic encountered issues it was able to contact Cerner’s Meaning Use team to assist in the process of attestation.
Additionally, attending Webinars set up by Cerner Corporation, examining materials provided by Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), and attending an MU Summit set up by Cerner Corporation to highlight some of the more important segments of MU, all played an integral role in ensuring West Broadway Clinic would meet Meaningful Use requirements.
The most challenging Meaningful Use requirement was encouraging all of the providers to use the electronic prescriptions function. After reaching MU in just over three months, just two days after attestation opened, Jan Patterson states the clinic continues to maintain its high level of entering the patients’ correct and necessary data and the numbers of electronic prescriptions being sent to pharmacies are increasing.
The benefits to patient care are immediate access to the most current visit information and patient history at its finger tips. Patients receive more continuity of care due to the fact that regardless of what provider they are seeing within their office , the provider can quickly and easily track what services and/or medications a different provider has provided the patient. Components such as eprescribe, medicine/drug interactions, allergy checks, complete documentation, immunization schedules and growth charts etc., have made the clinic more efficient throughout the office.
Patterson’s advice to anyone starting the MU process is to make sure you have gathered all the information and facts first and ensure all physicians/staff are not only fully advised of what is required to meet MU but are also committed to following the process through to its completion. It is important they understand the benefits and necessity of Meaningful Use. After three years of being on an EHR, Patterson cannot imagine functioning as efficiently on a paper system. Although Patterson acknowledges the money as an incentive, the real benefit in successfully attesting is the benefit to their patients. As Patterson suggests, “The increased benefits of safety cannot be undersold. With the assistance of the EHR, we are practicing better, safer medicine than we could on paper records.”
Read the full transcript of Jan Patterson’s interview.