Reprinted from: DyMedisys.com 1601 N. Sepulveda Blvd. #727, Manhattan Beach, CA. 90266, 800-529-3962
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Electronic Medical Record Usage Expected to Skyrocket
When it comes to research and technological progress in the treatment of patients, the medical community is on the cutting edge. Advances in medicine seem almost futuristic as scientists step closer to cloning a human, transplants of animal organs to humans are not unheard of and surgeries are conducted with lasers. However, despite major strides made in the practice of medicine, the business of health care is lagging.
Health care trails all other industries in its acceptance of electronic methods for information management. According to industry analysts, fewer than five percent of physicians currently use electronic medical records (EMRs); the majority rely on antiquated, paper-based methods. However, implementation rates of EMRs are expected to skyrocket. William Bates, MD, president and CEO of BAI Clinical Software, a developer of specialty-based EMR software, predicts EMR adoption rates will increase as high as 50 percent within the next five years.
"The health care industry is undergoing a rapid transformation," said Bates. "The business aspects associated with the delivery of health care have become increasingly more complex. Streamlining administrative functions through the use of information technology, including more efficient input and access of information, will significantly increase operational efficiency and the ability of practices to meet changing industry demands with greater ease."
The impact of IT on the health care industry over the next decade cannot be underestimated. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute for the Future Health and Health Care 2010 forecast, IT will be one of the biggest catalysts of change in the health care industry over the next 10 years. EMRs are expected to be one of four areas where health care will be most affected by IT.
Market Factors Driving EMR Adoption The need to reduce medical errors is among one of the primary influences of the acceptance and implementation of EMRs. EMRs can help reduce mistakes in transmitting doctors' orders and warn of drug interactions -- the most common errors. Government regulations are also impacting the use of IT in health care. California, often a leader in industry trends, recently passed a law requiring health care organizations to submit IT mplementation plans that help reduce medical errors.
A major shift in physicians' attitudes toward the use of IT will also play a significant role in the adoption of EMRs. A new generation of tech-savvy physicians who will begin to play a more informed decision-making role in how IT is purchased is emerging. An Association of American Medical Colleges survey of 1999 medical school graduates found that nearly 75 percent feel well prepared to use a computer-based clinical records system as compared to only 31 percent who felt prepared in 1988.
Physician frustrations with current methods of record-keeping, new federal legislation, the growing impact of managed care and patient demand are also influencing an increase in IT spending and EMR adoption rates.
"The intrinsic benefits of EMRs alleviate physician frustrations with paper-based methods including concerns with legibility, inability to access records remotely, inefficiency and an inability to look at patient trends," said Bates. "In addition, EMRs reduce the high costs most practices incur related to the use of paper records including transcription and storage." According to the Medical Records Institute, data capture -- particularly transcription -- for paper-based record keeping costs the health care industry approximately $15 billion annually. Over time, as a result of the implementation of an EMR system, practices can reduce or eliminate transcription, storage and transportation costs, as well as costs for clerical labor support, professional liability, insurance premiums and supplies. EMRs also remedy the flaws in conventional paper methods through improvements in accessibility, cost savings, quality and capacity.
