(Reuters Health)—Hospitals that switch from paper to electronic health records may eventually see lower death rates than they had before, but a U.S. study also suggests that fatalities may first increase as the transition gets underway. Researchers examined the degree of digitization and 30-day death rates for patients age 65 and older at 3,249 hospitals…
Time & Money: Tech Investments for Rheumatology
Electronic health records, personal trackers, pedometers—all these technologies result in data, data and more data. What types of technology investments will help rheumatology practices collect and understand these data? Here are some insights into investing in technology for your practice…
Unwise Choices: EHRs, PBMs, Drug Costs Are Leading to Physician Burnout
My dear electronic health records How do I dislike thee? Let me count the ways Adaptation of Sonnet 43 By Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806–1861 As my tenure as physician editor winds down, it’s worth reviewing some of the more nettlesome issues confronting clinicians that have been previously discussed in these pages and gauge their current…
Choose the Right EHR the 1st Time
With so many electronic health record (EHR) systems on the market, it can be difficult to decide which one to choose. You may want to ask your peers for recommendations, visit practices that are using a system you’re contemplating and consider advice in trade journals. Jeffrey G. Lawson, MD, physician, Piedmont Arthritis Clinic, Greenville, S.C.,…
How to Get Your EHR Up … & Keep It Running
Implementing a new electronic health record (EHR) system is no easy task—and one that a physician shouldn’t tackle alone. From the onset, you need to get buy-in from your practice’s colleagues. To do this, designate a physician champion to take charge of the effort. “This is a challenging position, because it’s difficult to convince people…
Hours Spent Record Keeping May Fuel Physician Burnout
(Reuters Health)—For every hour doctors spend treating patients during a typical workday, they devote nearly two more hours to maintaining electronic health records (EHR) and clerical work, a small U.S. study suggests. Time spent in meaningful interactions with patients is a powerful driver of physician career satisfaction, but increased paperwork and time on the computer…
RISE Offers Hope & Enhances Patient Care
For more than a decade, Kaleb Michaud, PhD, has volunteered for the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). As an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he spent much of that time serving on a task force dedicated to the development of RISE (the Rheumatology Informatics System for Effectiveness). As an enhanced version…
How Technology Can Benefit Rheumatology Practices
Electronic health records, mobile apps, telemedicine, patient portals—new technologies offer rheumatologists more efficiency and patients greater knowledge. Here are a few ways these technologies can aid a practice…
Cyber Risks: A New Area of Liability for Medical Practices
Computerization of healthcare in general, and medical records in particular, has opened additional areas of liability for medical practices that many may not be addressing. A data breach of patient records can have major financial and business impacts on the practice when they occur. Data Intrusions Increasing The number of data intrusions hit a record…
Electronic Health Records Software Often Written Without Doctors’ Input
(Reuters Health)—The reason why many doctors find electronic health records (EHR) difficult to use might be that the software wasn’t properly tested, researchers suggests. Current guidelines and industry standards suggest that new EHR software should be tested by at least 15 end users with a clinical background to make sure they are usable and safe…