I had an opportunity to connect with an old colleague and play catch up. It was interesting to hear about some of his experiences as a Health IT consultant. Keith Smith has been working independently for the last couple of years, helping physicians with EMR implementation and selection. Although regional extension centers are bad for business, Keith had high praise for them, labeling it as, “an admirable move by the government”.
However, his definition of a good EMR was most intriguing. “It’s comfort”, he exclaims. He went on to explain that initially most physicians were likely to be influenced by product design and subtle features which may not carry much importance. “Colors can add joy to working, but when you are stuck with one window for 2-3 minutes (which should ideally take you a couple of clicks), the initial effect is likely to wear off”, he said.
He stressed that while functionality carried more value, it was important to establish long-term usefulness of a feature and pay less regard to the wow factor. “The problem is these new entrants are making flashy designs and animated screens which are great to look at, but they are slow in load time and can really create problems during peak office hours”, he said.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Keith admitted that while cost was a decisive factor, most physicians would pay more for an EMR that was more suitable for their practice. He also explained that mature EMR systems were more receptive to change despite the common perception. “A new company may be more likely to fix bugs but they would not be willing to tweak features.”, he said. Adding that a mature EHR vendor is also likely to be much more stable.
Usability and support are decisive factors for most physicians. According to the CIO of CureMD Healthcare, a leading SaaS EMR vendor, “Cumbersome design is the biggest threat EHR adoption”.
In a recent article on the Health Affairs Blog, Barry Saver who is a family practitioner and health services researcher explains that the design of majority EMR systems is unwieldy with most physicians experiencing inefficiencies instead of improved productivity and better ROIs.
On the other hand, John Lynn from Healthcare scene argues in his response that physicians often get stuck up on few problems ignoring the overall impact of an EMR. “I’m not suggesting that EHR problems shouldn’t be addressed. Please do hold EHR vendors accountable if their software needs changes”, he says adding, “There are deal breaking EHR features and there are EHR annoyances that can be fixed. Make sure you know which one you are really dealing with when you see it.”
