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EMR: Accessibility or Speed?

According to a recent report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the healthcare digitization […]

According to a recent report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the healthcare digitization cause has successfully recruited more than half of the physician populous in the US. The EMR adoption numbers signify the expectations of the health industry from this revolutionary technology. Care is changing, and if you are amongst those waiting for a final verdict, this is your calling.

Over the last decade, Health IT has managed to acquire more prominence in the care industry, where it is no longer just a support tool but a gateway to healthcare transformation. Health information portability opens up multiple opportunities for patients and physicians alike. This is one of the reasons for the exponential growth in web-based based electronic medical records and their popularity is on the rise. Web-based or Cloud EMRs are designed to give medical professionals access to relevant information, independent of location and/or devices.

While web-based EMRs do help increase accessibility, these solutions are heavily dependent on the internet service provider. Since data is stored on external servers, physicians have to rely on the internet providers, not just the EMR vendor. A network downtime can result in a total black out. This is why most cloud EMR vendors advise their clients to use reliable vendors for their internet connections or have a back up connection, in case of an outage.

Another issue with web based electronic medical records is that heavier applications are often slow, which reduces the efficiency and can cause unnecessary delays. “Navigation becomes really annoying sometimes. The application is heavy and shifting from one page to another takes time. Imagine you accidently click on something else while scheduling an appointment or filling out a prescription.”, says one office manager.

Physicians do not want speed and accessibility to be mutually exclusive. However, seldom vendors manage to find a balance between the two. EHR vendors focusing on the product appeal often end up overdoing designs leading to heavier interfaces and increased load times. Bill Hashmat, the CIO of CureMD a leading EMR vendor explains that design simplicity essentially leads to better workflow management that physicians crave for. He says, “Cumbersome design is the biggest threat to EHR adoption.” Many health IT experts and stakeholders are beginning to echo Mr. Hashmat’s concern, citing the need for EMR solutions capable of improving practice efficiency rather than slowing them down.


Frank Quinn

The writer is a leading Health IT analyst contributing regularly on some of the most pressing topics like Electronic Health Records, Practice Management, eRx, Patient Portal, Billing Services, Compliance and Privacy and Security.

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