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What an EMR Is Not



The very term EMR stirs up confusion in healthcare today. While hundreds of vendors claim to have an EMR solution, there is no standard within the industry. But that is changing now.



Confusion On What Constitutes An EMR



Electronic Medical Records. Electronic Health Records. Personal Health Record . The very words EMR, EHR and PHR stir up confusion 20 years after their introduction. If you talk about electronic patient billing, even the smallest physician practice understands what is meant. Yet when we talk about EMR's8217;s, there is considerable confusion on what is meant says industry analyst Pam Waymack of Phoenix Services www.PhoenixService.net after attending the 22nd annual Towards an Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference where nearly 200 vendors clambered to show how they support EMR capabilities. Dr. Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D. and chair of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) noted at the meeting, The fact that you can ask the question (What an EMR is not) and not be laughed at shows the state of the market.





State of the EMR Market



While several hundred software vendors claim to offer EMR products. New entities everyday are entering the market with their own version of what they think an EMR is. In May, two health plan associations announced their plans to make PHR'ss available to their members using the claims data they have. The EMR market today is where the practice management market was 20 years ago according to Waymack a consultant with Phoenix Services. There were minimal standards, functionality was highly variable, the level of workflow automation was basic and knowledge management was only beginning .





The Quantum Leap for EMRs



The good news for providers is that nationally several organizations are working with the federal government to accelerate the adoption of EMRs. By establishing standards and defining functional requirements, these organizations seek to reduce the variability as well as risk of acquiring EMRs. On May 1st CCHIT announced the first set of national criteria for ambulatory electronic health records (EHRs). CCHIT is now accepting applications from vendors seeking certification of their ambulatory EHR solutions. This is the first step in accelerating the maturation of the health information technology (HIT) market. By setting standards for EHR functionality, CCHIT is helping to catalyze the market. Dr. Leavitt noted that their criteria establish the minimum requirements for certified products in the market. Products not meeting all of CCHIT's8217;s criteria will not be certified as comprehensive ambulatory EHRs. The development of CCHIT's8217;s inspection process has received funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) but the organization is a market-driven, voluntary, private-sector initiative. The goal is to accelerate EHR adoption among practicing physicians by providing them with a benchmark against which they can measure EHRs, decreasing the risk of this investment.



EMRs are not off-the-shelf products ready to use without any tailoring. Most EMRs are not plug-and-play solutions today but interoperability of standards will address is in the years to come. EMRs with reasonable automation and tools are also not inexpensive either in terms of the price tag to purchase or the staff resources required to install successfully. Finally, even the best EMR today does not solve all of our practice problems. But EMRs are quickly becoming the basis for providers to meet the changing demands of healthcare today:

-to document the extent of services provided,

-to communicate findings efficiently and rapidly with other providers,

-to capture charges for all services provided,

-to support compliance with evidence based medicine,

-to improve the patient'ss experience, to reduce medical errors and to improve practice efficiency.



Despite everything that an EMR is not today, EMRs are a critical ingredient in the future practice of healthcare. According to Waymack, 's8220;Just as we cannot imagine practicing without automated billing and scheduling tools today, successful practice in the near future will require automated clinical records both within our practices and across our communities's8221;.





About Phoenix Services



Phoenix Services is a healthcare consulting firm focused on improving performance, operationally, financially and strategically. Pam Waymack, MBA, CHFP, CPHIT, CPEHR, is managing director of Phoenix Services in Evanston Illinois. Pam is a national speaker, author and consultant in the area of leveraging healthcare technology to address the business challenges in healthcare.



Contact:



Pam Waymack, Managing Director

Phoenix Services

847-864-4451

www.PhoenixService.net






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