Is the paperwork really that bad?

[DesertPT]

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For currently practicing PTs:

I seem to see all over the place people saying that one of the biggest cons to the PT is paperwork-a-plenty...more so than I've seen this mentioned in other healthcare careers. Is it really that bad?? Not that that's gonna dissuade you from your career choice, but it would be nice for it to not be too burdensome...

 

[DPTErudition]

If you stay on top of paperwork throughout the day, it's not that bad. It's not fun staying late an hour or two because you let it pile up though. The most time consuming things are evals,progress notes, etc. A lot of employers now do EMRs so if you have a good electronic system that typically speeds things up.

 

[Shanna3206]

I think it depends on many factors. What setting you work in, what type of documentation system they use (written, electronic, dictation, etc). For me personally, everything is dictated by phone so it's awesome and not time consuming at all. However in my clinicals during school I got to experience various types of documentation, some of which were very time consuming. I like to have a blank slate for my documentation, and some electronic programs box you in and it can be very frustrating.

 

[DesertPT]

It seems a little silly to me that some clinics still use hand-written documentation. Why hasn't everyone gone to EMR's at this point??

 

[jblil]

Why hasn't everyone gone to EMR's at this point??

Cost. It ain't cheap.

I helped one of the PTs I shadowed evaluate a few EMR packages for his 3-PT private practice (I used to work in the software industry). IIRC, the least expensive EMR system would still cost ~10K, and on top of that you have monthly fees.

Doctors, dentists, and even chiropractors get a $44K subsidy from the government to install an EMR. PTs do not. That tells you who has the better lobby in Washington DC.

 

[DesertPT]

Doctors, dentists, and even chiropractors get a $44K subsidy from the government to install an EMR. PTs do not. That tells you who has the better lobby in Washington DC.

Sad story...

 

[NewTestament]

Cost. It ain't cheap.

I helped one of the PTs I shadowed evaluate a few EMR packages for his 3-PT private practice (I used to work in the software industry). IIRC, the least expensive EMR system would still cost ~10K, and on top of that you have monthly fees.

Doctors, dentists, and even chiropractors get a $44K subsidy from the government to install an EMR. PTs do not. That tells you who has the better lobby in Washington DC.

We had a discussion today about EMR. I wanted to quote you, but I didn't have a definitive source. Obviously, I could not say my source was a poster on SDN Forum. How do you know about this $44k subsidy?

Kevin

 

[jblil]

The $44K incentive is part of the 2009 "Stimulus Package":
http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-...ms/index.html?redirect=/ehrincentiveprograms/