Technology Free EMR

[strangeglove]

Has anyone checked this out yet?:

www.practicefusion.com

It looks like a fully-featured, free EMR with good technical support. I think the catch is that you allow them to sell your patients' de-identified data for "research" (read pharmaceutical marketing). Seems like a good deal, and an interesting business model, though potentially problematic in terms of informed consent.

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[DrJosephKim]

It's a great product. However, to stay current with the changing trends in health IT, we should be using the phrase EHR instead of EMR.

 

[1UP]

It's a great product. However, to stay current with the changing trends in health IT, we should be using the phrase EHR instead of EMR.

Same difference.

 

[deleted87716]

Same difference.

For all practical purposes, the terms are virtually identical.

The term "EHR," however, is used to refer to electronic health information that transcends the single-doctor electronic medical record, or "EMR."

This is largely a pipe dream at present.

 

[DrJosephKim]

From the perspective of the government (ARRA, the HITECH Act, and Medicare), the preferred term is now "EHR"

I realize that many physicians are still in the habit of using the phrase "EMR," so for all practical purposes, you can still use both. However, eventually (maybe in 100 years) EMR will get probably replaced with EHR.

 

[Winged Scapula]

We looked into switching to Practice Fusion (mostly at the behest of our billers who like that it integrates with their software better) but chose not to switch:

1) expensive to transition current EMR over; no guarantee that it could be done on weekend
2) they will transition patient demographics but NO clinical data or images (thus requiring extensive manpower to download all our notes, images, etc. to our server and then not being able to integrate them into Practice Fusion - so have to look at two systems to get a full picture of a patient)
2) no FAX services (this is HUGE - we receive all records via electronic FAX and send out letters, records, etc the same way; it would therefore require manpower to do it manually or an additional system which in the end would cost as much as our current EMR which supports FAXes)
3) ads

 

[deleted87716]

We looked into switching to Practice Fusion...but chose not to switch...no FAX services

That's a deal killer, right there.

 

[that70sShow]

wow never thought I'd see a post on EHRs. I work in EHRs, there are many free or mostly subsidized packages out there now that Obama is giving PCPs incentives to switch over. Don't know about that particular one but a primary care doctor would only qualify for the EHR stimulus payout if the doctor meets 'meaningful usage'. If you're a primary care doc, the meaningful use definitions (quality measures etc) are still being drafted TBA, I'd wait for that to happen first before picking an EHR, because you don't know if that software in particular can meet the standard guidelines.

ps - check the "free" part because it might be free but also might require you to sign over any stimulus payout you would've qualified for

 

[Winged Scapula]

That's a deal killer, right there.

Yep...THAT really was the deal killer as far as we were concerned.

 

[1UP]

...2) no FAX services (this is HUGE - we receive all records via electronic FAX and send out letters, records, etc the same way; it would therefore require manpower to do it manually or an additional system which in the end would cost as much as our current EMR which supports FAXes)...

I'm always amazed at how much faxing still gets done in the medical profession. It's such an antiquated method of document transmission. Once EMR's really hit the mainstream I think digital transmission will become the dominant method of document exchange.

 

[deleted87716]

I'm always amazed at how much faxing still gets done in the medical profession. It's such an antiquated method of document transmission. Once EMR's really hit the mainstream I think digital transmission will become the dominant method of document exchange.

Right now, there's pretty much zero digital interaction between EMRs unless somebody's created a custom interface or is using a regional hub of some kind.

 

[that70sShow]

Right now, there's pretty much zero digital interaction between EMRs unless somebody's created a custom interface or is using a regional hub of some kind.

There's going to be a lot more over the next few years, its in the works now (also already out there likely) .

 

[deleted87716]

There's going to be a lot more over the next few years, its in the works now (also already out there likely) .

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/...ractice-management/20100216hsc-ehr-study.html

 

[that70sShow]

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/...ractice-management/20100216hsc-ehr-study.html

Well..I didn't say it would be better, I just (objectively) said there's going to be a lot more of that over the next few years..I'm going to keep my opinion under my hat for now..

Its little consolation but..the "how its going to work out" is currently being researched too..suggestions welcome?

 

[1UP]

Right now, there's pretty much zero digital interaction between EMRs unless somebody's created a custom interface or is using a regional hub of some kind.

I think once real standards, protocols, etc... are established it will happen quite quickly.

 

[deleted87716]

I think once real standards, protocols, etc... are established it will happen quite quickly.

[YOUTUBE]Pk7yqlTMvp8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Winged Scapula]

I'm always amazed at how much faxing still gets done in the medical profession. It's such an antiquated method of document transmission. Once EMR's really hit the mainstream I think digital transmission will become the dominant method of document exchange.

Currently we try and utilize our electronic FAX system which is DIGITAL transmission. However, there are problems as noted by Blue Dog:

1) not all offices are EMR and cannot receive electronic FAXes
2) not all EMRs are compatible

The problem with the Practice Fusion is that it doesn't support FAXes at all, meaning that we would have to have another system to send those documents which I would be happy to do but when it ends up costing us the same as our current EMR, it doesn't seem so great to switch.

There are still a lot of offices with paper charts and outmoded ways of communication. For those offices without EMRs, I had my office try and get emails so I could send patient documents through our secure server...didn't work, those offices either don't have emails, a secure server or block email so that office staff cannot do other stuff during work hours (we blocked Facebook when I started seeing posts during the middle of the day ).

Don't be suprised at the lack of modern technology in medicine...there's a lot of places that are not up to speed yet. Like Blue Dog says, "herding cats".