February 2006 — Volume 1, No. 2

The Digital Office...connecting your practice with the Electronic Medical Record is publishing a week early for this special HIMSS 2006 Conference Edition. The 2006 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition will be held February 13-16 in San Diego …and The Digital Office team wanted to make sure this issue reached readers with news of the conference.

A new and complimentary resource for HIMSS members, physicians, the media and anyone involved and interested in the transformation of today's medical practice through healthcare IT, The Digital Office offers the latest news on ambulatory care and the electronic medical record.

Keep The Digital Office coming to you: The Digital Office is provided to readers at no charge, but only to those readers who sign up to receive the online publication. To permanently subscribe to this complimentary information source from HIMSS. click here to register.

From the HIMSS Ambulatory eNewsletter Task Force

Laura D. Jantos, FHIMSS
Principal,
ECG Management Consultants, Inc.
Chair,
Ambulatory eNewsletter Task Force

 

In creating The Digital Office, HIMSS and the Ambulatory eNewsletter Task Force understand that no office is just like yours. However, all offices face similar challenges. Physician practices are under increasing pressure to adopt information technology: a metamorphosis that has promise to greatly improve how healthcare is delivered but can also be quite costly, time consuming and have potentially adverse effects. Therefore, we strive to make the transition from paper to electronic (or from electronic to more efficient) easier, less expensive and less risky by providing information for a diverse audience from small/solo practices to large, multi-specialty organizations. Through this, we hope to provide a forum that enables physician practices to identify organizations that are at similar points on the technology adoption curve so they can learn from one other.

We welcome your feedback and involvement in the next few months, as this publication continues to evolve. There are plenty of opportunities to showcase implementations, selection processes, new techniques, and innovations that would be of interest to your peers. Please contact Jill Redenius if you would like to participate on the task force or have a story idea.

Electronic medical records (EMRs)…a challenge or an opportunity? It's both. The EMR is becoming an invaluable part of doing business in today's U.S. healthcare industry…Find out more at www.himss.org/pact about the HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Conference for physician practices, known as the Physicians Adopting Computer Technology (PACT) conference.

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Three private practices became the 2005 winners for the Ambulatory Care Davies Award, previously known as the Primary Care Davies Award.

The Davies Awards recognize excellence in the implementation and use of health information technology in three categories: Organizational, Ambulatory Care and Public Health. Originally created by CPRI-HOST in 1995, the Davies Award program honors Dr. Nicholas Davies, an Atlanta-based physician who was committed to improving patient care through the use of health information technology.

One of three 2005 Nicholas E. Davies Ambulatory Award winners, Southeast Texas Medical Associates (SETMA) in Beaumont completes 263,000 patient encounters (clinic, hospital, nursing home, physical therapy, hospice and home health) annually—all of which are documented electronically. Recognizing that the practice’s future growth and development would be limited by a paper-based medical record, the practice went “live” with an EHR system in early 1999. The practice’s clinicians believe that the complexities of 21st century medicine require “data management,” not “document” management. The EHR system gives SETMA a true “continuum of care”—with integration of patient-encounter documentation, laboratory, radiology, special procedures, consultations, hospital history and physicals, hospital discharge summaries and specialty care data. As the EHR system is utilized 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, SETMA’s IT department has grown to four full-time personnel and one part-time person, ensuring the system's stability and availability.

Utilizing the EHR and specialty template development, SETMA is expanding its electronic functionalities in specialty care areas such as pediatrics, diabetes treatment and weight management. SETMA has also expanded its electronic communication with its patients, now offering appointment scheduling/confirming and referrals through its Web site; all communication is documented in the patient’s EHR. Patients can also document symptoms and a history of their current illness prior to upcoming appointments with physicians.

A Birmingham, Ala. practice with four physicians and 20,000 annual patient encounters, Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Specialists implemented an EHR in 2003. In addition to serving the general Birmingham population, the practice’s physicians serve the local professional arena football league team as well as 20 local high schools and middle schools. The practice, a 2005 Davies Ambulatory winner, offers a mix of 50% sports medicine and 50% general orthopedics. With rapid growth of the practice, which included a satellite office, medical records and charts were becoming a major burden. Wanting to implement an EMR system that would be applicable to the specialties of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, the practice chose a template-driven system with additional possibilities of limited free form typing or dictation.

Utilized since September 2003, the EHR system is based on a SOAP note format and allows for tracking CPT codes performed and ordered in the office, contains a messaging “email” type application and assists staff in the flow of patients throughout the office. Now, all patient records are done entirely within the EMR, with all outside paper correspondence scanned into the “patient charts.” The results are complete and accurate patient records and accurate coding.

Wayne Obstetrics and Gynecology, also a 2005 Davies Ambulatory winner, is a solo physician practice in Jessup, Ga, with more than 2,200 patients. The practice implemented an EMR system with two primary goals in mind: improve patient satisfaction through enhanced workflow in the office and decrease medical liability by documenting and capturing clear, accurate and thorough data. Part of the later goal was to use the EMR to efficiently and accurately transmit prenatal data from the office and to the hospital labor and delivery suite. The practice’s staff wanted an EMR that was adaptable and flexible to the way they wanted to practice medicine.

The system’s workflow management allows for customization and streamlines collaboration among providers and staff in ways that greatly improve practice efficiency. In place since October 2003, the practice’s EMR system is used to capture patient visits, telephone calls, and prescriptions and suggested coding levels, as well as track labs and other results. All paper records from outside sources are scanned. The practice is now looking to expand the system’s capabilities such as by testing new reports that identify patients past due for preventive medicine such as paper smears and mammograms.

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Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, FACP Under Secretary for Health Veterans Health Administration

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the United States’ largest integrated health system, transformed itself in the past decade from a collection of traditional safety net hospitals to an integrated health system providing a continuum of care to more than 7.6 million veterans. This transformation, which one writer recently called a “miracle,” was guided by an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention, performance measurement, and electronic health records.

VHA’s current challenges, like those of all providers, include the increasing cost and complexity of healthcare, the ability to harness the power of advanced information technologies; and the ability to translate new research breakthroughs quickly into practice. Our goal, at VHA and throughout health care, is to create a system characterized by safe, effective, efficient, and compassionate healthcare.

To meet these challenges, we must improve our ability to access and exchange information among providers, not only within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), but also, throughout healthcare to share health information between patients and caregivers and harness the promise of genomic medicine. In short, we must move from an Industrial Age to an Information Age health care model: from one guideline fits all to evidence-based, personalized healthcare, in which care is patient-centric, and in which mass customization replaces mass standardization so that knowledge is accessible to patients and lay care givers. Productivity is defined as the best evidence available applied uniquely to individual patients.

For more information on the work of the Veterans Health Administration, go to Healthcare Papers, 2005:5(40):1-62. Issue dedicated to lessons from VA's transformation, and applicability to other health settings, including Canada.

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The HIMSS Katrina Phoenix Project, initiated in September 2005, is focused on aiding paper-based medical practices - decimated by Katrina - by rebuilding with EHRs...

Roberta Chilimiagras, MD, sits in the makeshift office for Waveland Medical Center, in Waveland, Miss. Hurricane Katrina destroyed the medical center, which houses Dr. Chilimiagras with one practice manager and registered nurse.

Following the hurricane, Waveland Medical Center now operates out of Quonset hut in Waveland, Miss.

House after house, medical practices of all specialties, entire hospitals. Lights out, shattered windows, wide-open doors, gutted, spray paint markings, “FEMA - Demolish.” Block-after-block-after-block of clutter, trash, and rubble; metal highway-signs bent in half and ripped in two. This is a snapshot of many of the surrounding parishes of New Orleans as well as eastbound into Waveland, Gulfport, and Biloxi, Miss. The eerie look and feel of a ghost town SIX months after the devastation and havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina is the scene that left Pat Wise, vice president, enterprise health information systems, and David Collins, manager, ambulatory, health information systems, awestruck as they visited Gulf Coast practices identified by the Katrina Phoenix Advisory Board, Feb. 2 and 3.

The entire medical practice of Waveland Medical Center swallowed nine plus feet of water as a result of storm surges reaching 29 feet on the Mississippi coast, completely destroying more than 10,000 paper medical records. Presently continuing to practice in a Quonset tent donated from Alaska, that was once used as barracks during Desert Storm, one dedicated physician, one longtime practice manager, and one nurse are working to rebuild their practice and continue to provide care to those in need. Dr. Chilimiagras not only is in the process of recapturing her livelihood, but looking to rebuild her house that was also completely ravished by Katrina.

The HIMSS Katrina Phoenix project is working to coordinate a gift of an EMR to Waveland Medical Center in conjunction with physician mentoring to transition workflow. This is one of several practices visited that will be receiving assistance from HIMSS Katrina Phoenix, as well as local assistance from both the Louisiana and Mississippi Quality Improvement Organizations. Interest to participate in HIMSS Katrina Phoenix should be directed to David Collins at HIMSS.

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Technology advances in healthcare include new options for patients and physicians to develop a team approach to managing medical conditions. For example, more than three million people, or about 1% of the U.S. population, receive care known as a long-term oral anticoagulation treatment (OAT) to manage blood clotting disorders, according to a 2004 Marques report. Medication must be adjusted on a regular basis based on results from a blood draw, either at a clinic visit or during a home visit from a clinician.

However, there is good news in this area of patient care. Russell Bourke, RN, MBA, and HIMSS manager of patient safety and quality outcomes, told The Digital Office that portable INR monitoring devices are available for those with this condition. INR – or international normalized ratio – is system that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Committee on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ICTH) established for a universal reporting system for blood clotting or coagulation results so that patients will obtain comparable test results from any lab.

Now, patients with blood clotting disorders can purchase at-home technology to test their blood, much like people with diabetes who use portable blood glucose monitors. Patients who depend on OAT treatment can use the device to obtain results, call the doctor and receive any medication adjustments over the phone...because technology allows them to help manage their condition and participate in their own care.

The physician/patient team: Physicians can check patients’ INR as frequently as needed, a system that creates a patient-centered rapid response team. Patients will not have to leave their homes to obtain lab results, but instead will be charged for a telephone consult by their clinician. This approach can improve the quality of life and, probably extend life, for these patients. One review by Ansell (2001) reported that 88% of patients performing this type of self-regimen testing stay within the therapeutic range compared to a control group response of 68 percent.

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Neil Calman, MD
President/CEO
Institute for Urban Family Health
New York, NY

Neil Calman, MD, president and CEO of the Institute for Urban Family Health, has been named the recipient of the 2005 Physician IT Leadership Award, presented annually by HIMSS. Dr. Calman will receive the award on Feb. 14 at HIMSS 2006 in San Diego.

Four years ago, Calman implemented Epic, a fully integrated EHR, across the institute’s network of ambulatory care sites. This was made possible through a partnership with Continuum Health, a major New York City hospital system which contracts with the institute to manage six community-based practices.

The EHR has enhanced the organization’s capacity to deliver the highest quality patient care, by minimizing the possibility of medical errors, and increasing opportunities for preventive care. The system has also enabled the institute to link with the New York City Department of Health’s nationally renowned Syndromic Surveillance System, the first primary care network to do so.

“Calman’s efforts have meant that this technology is directed at improving the quality of care for patients, and improving connections to public health. The Health Department is pleased to partner with Neil and the institute to demonstrate the difference that strategic implementation of an EHR can make for preventive care and public health,” said Thomas Frieden, MD, the New York City commissioner of health.

Sue Sutton, CEO of Tower Strategies and chair of the HIMSS Ambulatory Care Steering Committee, commented on her committee’s decision to recommend Dr. Calman for this important national award. “Calman’s leadership has helped to improve healthcare in medically underserved areas through the use of information technology. He is an example of what individual physicians can do to improve care in ambulatory care settings.”

The Institute for Urban Family Health a 20-year old organization that operates health centers in medically underserved neighborhoods in New York City, as well as several health professional training and health promotion programs.

"The Institute took on the early implementation of electronic health records in order to bring EHR-supported enhancements in quality, safety, care coordination and communication to those Americans who are usually the last to benefit from technological breakthroughs - the ones who suffer the worst health outcomes - people of color and people who are uninsured,” said Dr. Calman. “Community health centers, public hospitals and others who care for people who are medically underserved must implement EHRs now to bring the power of decision supports, population management, and integration with public health to help their patients and communities achieve optimal healthcare and optimal health. I am optimistic that this prestigious award will focus attention on the need to support such endeavors."

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Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD
Chair, CCHIT






David Collins, MHA, HIMSS, manager, ambulatory, healthcare information systems, talked with Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, chair of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) on what’s ahead for the commission and certification of EMR products for ambulatory care.

Q: Mark, physicians consistently express to me their reluctance to purchase an EMR “today” for their practice, as they claim costs are too high, standards are not yet in place, vendors often fold up and go away, and the technology they purchase today will be obsolete in six months. How will certification help with these concerns and increase the adoption rate of EMRs in the ambulatory space?

A: David, all of the concerns you expressed are ones that CCHIT is working to address. First, CCHIT helps EMR buyers by essentially doing some of their homework for them, so they can make a better-informed choice among the vendors. This is especially valuable for doctors who don’t have the time to explore the marketplace. CCHIT has workgroups with a diversity of experts who spend many hours -- collectively, hundreds of hours – developing criteria that can be used to filter the marketplace.

Second, CCHIT wants to help unlock financial incentives that reward the physician practice for investing in EMR. These can include direct incentives for adopting IT, as well as incentives related to quality that is only achievable with robust IT. As well, CCHIT is working to assist with regulatory relief. In the proposed new rules for Stark and Anti-Kickback interpretation, systems that are certified may provide “safe harbor” – meaning hospitals may be able to assist doctors in adopting EMRs. Finally, privacy and security are being addressed by CCHIT, to assure that EMR products always protect the privacy of personal health information.

Q: As you know, physicians are most receptive to lessons learned from their peers. Does the work of CCHIT really involve practicing physicians?

A: There are many physicians working on our commission and workgroups, and quite a few that are in active practice. This work is not being done with an “ivory tower” mentality. The work of CCHIT is also open to public comment and feedback, and we’ve heard from multiple professional organizations as well as individual physicians.

Q. I understand that ambulatory products are the first to be going through the certification process, to be followed by the acute care setting---this, in itself, seems promising to me. Where is CCHIT in its process of developing ambulatory EMR certification?

A. The pilot test for certification of ambulatory EHRs is under way and will be complete Feb. 28. In the March/April time frame, the results from the pilot will be reviewed and we’ll start accepting applications for official certification. By June, we hope to have certified ambulatory EHR products in the market.

Q: This is certainly moving along at a rapid pace. Should physicians wait to make their purchase until this summer?

A. If physicians have already selected a system and they are comfortable that it fits the needs of their practice, then my answer is “no,” they should not wait. On the other hand, if they have just started exploring the marketplace but have not yet reached a decision, they may want to consider waiting. If a physician practice has already purchased a system, they should not fret, because we believe that most vendors will upgrade their existing products to meet certification standards.

Q: What is CCHIT’s position relative to the federal HIT strategy?

A. The American Health Information Community (the Community), chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, is providing strategic direction to CCHIT as well as the other federal HIT contractors. These other contractors are working on standards harmonization, national health information network (NHIN) prototypes, and privacy/security solutions, and we are all beginning to collaborate and share information. All this work is closely coordinated by Dr. David Brailer, the National Coordinator for HIT, and his staff.

Because of the high profile of this work, CCHIT takes care to be open and transparent in all its operations -- for example, minutes of all our meetings are published, work products are published for public comment, and we have public meetings and calls as well. In fact, we’ll be holding a Town Hall at HIMSS Annual Conference in San Diego on Feb. 14.

Q: Mark, this is certainly a new and different role for you. Are you enjoying your experience leading the CCHIT effort?

A. Yes, I enjoy the challenge of developing new concepts and learning new skills, and this clearly qualifies as that kind of challenge. What I find most exciting about HIT right now is the level of attention it is receiving on a national scale. For example, on Jan. 17, I attended the Community meeting in Washington to brief them on our latest progress. When you consider that Secretary Leavitt spent his entire morning there working with us on health IT, while he is also dealing with challenges such as the Medicare Part D rollout or the threat of pandemic flu, you realize that health IT has finally “arrived” in everybody’s mind.

For additional information, visit the CCHIT Web site.

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Sunday, February 12
Physicians’ IT Symposium (The Practice Track)	8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Nursing Informatics Symposium	8 a.m.-5 p.m.
P4P Symposium	8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
RHIO Symposium	8 a.m.-5 p.m.
HIMSS Opening Reception (San Diego Convention Center)	5- 8 p.m.

Monday, February 13
Opening Keynote – Michael Leavitt	8 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Session 6 – Healthcare IT: The Foundation for Improving Care	10 a.m.-11 a.m.
Session 21 – Implementing Laboratory Electronic Order Entry in the Outpatient Setting	11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Session 24 – At Your Fingertips 24/7: Advanced Mobile Solutions for Critical Care	11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Session 27 – Maximizing Pay-for-Performance Reimbursements with an EHR	11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Session 31 – Locking Intruders Out! Securing Healthcare Data	11:15 a.m. -12:15 p.m.
Session 38 – Spanning the Specialties to Bring You the Best Standards	12:30-1:30 p.m.
Session 48 – Rescue Me – Solving the Failure to Rescue Dilemma	12:30-1:30 p.m.
Product Pavilion Session The Benefits of Automating Appointment Reminders	4:15-5 p.m.
Communities Open House	5-6 p.m.
EHR Steering Committee Reception (ACSC is invited)	6-7 p.m.

Tuesday, February 14
Ambulatory Care Meet & Greet Breakfast	7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Session 55 – Improving Workflow and Patient Safety Using an Ambulatory EHR	8:30-9:30 a.m.
Session 59 – Staying Connected: Trends in Mobile Physician Solutions	8:30-9:30 a.m.
Session 60 – Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News: Doctor-Patient Communication via e-Messaging	8:30-9:30 a.m.
Session 70 – You’ve Got the Power: Harnessing the EHR for Improved Diabetes Care	9:45-10:45 a.m.
Session 71 – Davies Ambulatory Award Winner: Wayne Obstetrics & Gynecology	9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Session 73 – Performance Improvement through Medical Practice Redesign and IT	9:45-10:45 a.m.
Product Pavilion Session Best Practices in Deploying a Remote Office Wireless Solution	11:15 a.m. – Noon
Session 87 - Davies Ambulatory Award Winner: Southeast Texas Medical Associates	1-2 p.m.
Session 104 – Davies Ambulatory Award Winner: Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Specialists	2:15-3:15 p.m.

Wednesday, February 15
Session 125 – EHR Pay for Performance – Its Present and Future Effects on Quality Care	8:30-9:30 a.m.
Session 136 – The Real World	9:45-10:45 a.m.
Session 141 – Ambulatory EHR Budgets: Nuts & Bolts (aka Nickels or Billions?) (Barbara Drury)	9:45-10:45 a.m.
Session 147 – Defining, Maintaining and Using the Legal Electronic Health Record (Reed Gelzer, Deborah Kohn & Michelle Dougherty)	9:45-10:45 a.m.
e-Session 405 – Implementing EHR at Tribal Community Health Clinics (Product Pavilion)
Keynote – Secretary Tom Ridge	1-2:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 16
Keynote – Craig Barrett	8-9:30 a.m.
Closing Session – Dana Carvey	1-2:30 p.m.

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William Carriere, MD Medical Director, Family Care Partners, Jacksonville, Fla.

Vendor Update: NextGen® Healthcare Information Systems, Inc. Electronic Medical Records

NextGen EMR is a Windows-based system designed to improve quality of care, reduce risk and increase revenue. The system maintains complete medical records while streamlining workflow, providing disease management capabilities and managing outcomes data. Users can customize virtually any component of the system’s EMR, including templates, workflow and data fields. The system interfaces with labs, hospitals and pharmacies for coordination of care beyond examination rooms.

William Carriere, MD, medical director of Family Care Partners (FCP) in Jacksonville, Fla., said the practice has experienced widespread efficiency and care improvements through its use of NextGen EMR. “For instance, we’ve greatly enhanced disease management and health maintenance programs. Modules within the EMR are built to plan and monitor management of various disease states. Plus, we can customize routine care plans for each patient, helping to ensure preventive and follow-up care, as well as standard screening.”

Results have been significant. For example, for patients managing their diabetes, FCP has seen measurable improvement. “We are proud to claim a practice-wide hemoglobin A1c patient average of 6.8, down from 8.2,” Dr. Carriere noted. The practice has met Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) standards. HEDIS is a reporting system that evaluates the effectiveness of health plans. Plus, FCP earned the highest pediatric immunization compliance in northeastern Florida through EMR reports that identify patients with incomplete vaccinations and automatically generate correspondence to schedule visits.

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The Village Doctor
John Brady, MD
Newport News, Va.

If you are a physician and are interested in liberating yourself to practicing idealized medicine, read on...

John Brady, MD, calls his practice the Village Doctor…and with its opening in Newport News, Va. in 2003, he has returned family practice to its roots. He integrated his practice design to offer the service of yesterday (complete with home visits) with the technology necessary to practice medicine today. The Village Doctor uses the e-MDs electronic medical records system for all aspects of the office visit (scheduling, charting, and billing).

“Adopting an electronic medical record requires significant behavior change. Consider a patient with diabetes who refuses to change their behavior, although it is unhealthy given their condition. There must be some influence to convince the patient that it is worth changing,” said Dr. Brady. “This is similar to a physician shifting his or her mindset to see how adopting the EMR brings value to the practice of medicine.”

Dr. Brady lauds the value of the EMR because “the chart is always organized.” He does his own billing and told The Digital Office that the EMR paid for itself in the first year. He has just one other staff member, a nurse, who works with him during regular office hours. Acting as his own billing agent, he saves about 10% on collections, which amounts to about $24,000 for a proposed billing amount of $240,000. The EMR cost $30,000, but it's important to note that Dr. Brady also experienced additional savings from low overhead and technology efficiencies.

In his practice, Dr. Brady provides:

• Same day appointments (for established patients)
• Little to no waiting in the office to see the physician
• Longer visits (20-30 minutes for established patients and up to an hour for new patients)
• Home visits for patients living in Hilton Village or the surrounding area
• 24/7 access from one number (cell phone access when office closed)
• Superior quality care (as measured by quality indicators)
• Latest up-to-date treatment modalities (through internet-based resources)

Now Dr. Brady has time to volunteer for civic and professional activities, including serving on a mayoral committee in his community, participating in a study with Dartmouth University, and continuing the development of a Web-based physician referral portal, the HealthConnector.

Learn more about The Village Doctor. Review the The Village Doctor business plan.

Dr. Brady, of The Village Doctor, is located in the wonderful community of Hilton Village in Newport News, Va. As the nation’s first war housing project, Hilton Village is a planned community with churches on the corners and a centrally located school, and is framed by the historic James River to the west and a business district along Warwick Boulevard to the east. After nearly 100 years, it remains a perfect place to raise a family, and serves as a great backdrop for this style of medical practice.

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At the Arnett Clinic in Lafayette, Ind., Shannon Oates, MD, FACE, and a staff nurse spend some time in EMR Limbo…where necessary clinical information resides in both paper and digital form.

Is it likely any organization will go from paper to digital overnight? It is not impossible, but for most who are considering an EMR in their future, it is very likely they will experience what can be referred to as “EMR Limbo.” EMR Limbo is that state (could last for days, weeks, months or even years) where necessary clinical information resides in both paper and digital form.

For those providers experiencing EMR Limbo, they’ll know they’re there when they catch themselves trying to decide if they should look at the paper chart first or trust the EMR has everything needed. It is not a fatal state, but can offer challenges to patient care workflows where the chart is usually referenced. In an effort to minimize the issues, some organizations have taken a hard look at why they have to pull a chart and focus on getting the supporting information into the EMR. A potential “descending causal list” of a chart pulls includes: medication lists, allergies, nurse call documentation, visit notes, and then supporting results, such as lab and radiology.

There is plenty of information available to help those that are planning for an EMR. The progressive organizations that have implemented the EMR can share their experiences. EMR vendors have enough success stories implemented that they can share a “best practice model.” Shannon Oates, MD, FACE, talks about her experience working with both paper and digital records.

“I try to complete every task in the clinical visit without cracking open the paper chart. It sits outside the room in the wall holder teasing me with other information. My dream of course is the painless paperless beauty of an integrated EMR. My reality is living in this dual world. My department is using the electronic record and tablets, the other eight or nine departments in my building are using paper charts primarily. We have to be able and willing to move back and forth…for now.”

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Improving quality while exceeding customer expectations is important to us all. Arnett HealthSystem, a 150 provider-owned multi-specialty group in Lafayette, Ind., uses its EMR tools to document medications and then transmit the prescription to the patient's pharmacy of choice. Dr. Keith Whitesides demonstrates using his tablet to document care during the visit. The patients have said they really like this service because when they arrive at the pharmacy, their prescription is waiting for them and the pharmacy does not have to call the office to clarify the written prescription. Not only has this technology saved time for everybody; it is a major quality and safety improvement as well.

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Share Your EMR Solution with Physicians Exhibit at Physicians Adapting Computer Technology Conference Let physicians learn more about your EMR solution as an exhibitor at the Electronic Medical Records Conference known as PACT - The Physicians Adopting Computer Technology Conference. This one-day event, launched in 2004, features a distinguished group of award-winning, nationally recognized presenters who bring home the realities of the EMR. Exhibitors can take advantage of this exclusive opportunity to showcase their product to this targeted audience. During the conference, physician attendees hear from colleagues who have succeeded in EMR implementation and who are eager to share their real-world implementation experience in their own practices. Each PACT conference is designed to attract physicians in small (1-4 physicians) and large (10+ physicians) practices, as well as technology professionals, office managers and administrators who are responsible for EMR decision making. The 2006 PACT conferences will be held on the following dates: March 11 – Denver, Colo. March 18 – New York, N.Y. March 25 – San Francisco, Calif. April 22 – Dearborn, Mich. May 6 – Kingsport, Tenn. June 24 – Boston, Mass. Visit the HIMSS Web site at www.himss.org/pact to read more about PACT. Find out about the exhibitor packages by contacting Kelly Laidler via email or at 312.915.9285.

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