I fully understand and know how hard it can be, given that Web-based EMR is not just another way of ‘clinical note taking’ as some people call it, but it is a paradigm shift for practices. I call it a paradigm shift because it changes almost everything that you do in your practice. It affects not only you but the entire staff.
There are several things that I urge Physicians to do.
- Don’t make a decision in isolation, involve your staff, get their full buy-in and commitment, and not just because the ‘boss’ wants it.
- Look at the impact on the entire practice – the workflow, productivity (loss or gain), and also the impact over time. How does the ‘curve’ look? How long will you ‘hurt’ before it starts yielding the benefits?
- Don’t just look at the ‘features’ – I know. Most good systems have all the features. It is about the implementation, the support, the productivity.
Before I show the system, I try to understand your practice, and your workflow and then try to ‘map’ it to see how it may work in your practice. If it is not a good fit, I will tell you upfront. It would not make sense to ‘fit a square peg in a round hole’.
