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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
David M. Benderson, MD
Information Technology In Healthcare
Maryland Eye Associates
. http://marylandeyeassociates.com

Information Technology In Healthcare

While technology now permeates nearly every aspect of our existence, it is curious that most physicians offices and hospitals still utilize a simple pen and paper to record information vital to sustaining lives. However, health care providers are finally starting to adopt new technologies that will revolutionize the way your health care is delivered in both the outpatient and hospital settings.
The traditional paper-based medical practice has many limitations that computerization can overcome. Poor handwriting can lead to errors in filling prescriptions and interpreting the medical record. As information often goes unshared, physicians may miss the puzzle pieces needed to reach the correct diagnoses. Costly tests often end up needlessly repeated. When outside of the office, on-call physicians are unable to access records of emergency patients calling in with problems. On a larger level, our current disjointed system makes it harder to study how diseases affect populations.
Ideally, an electronic health record (EHR) is a comprehensive, digital recording that can be transmitted across the spectrum of health care providers and settings. It should contain pertinent patient background information (demographics, medical history, medications, allergies, etc.) as well as complete chart notes, laboratory and radiology results. Ultimately, this information should be sharable across an individuals interactions with the health care system including different providers, hospitals and clinics.
At the present time, only about 15% of physicians offices and 20% of hospitals utilize HER. The cost of these systems has been a major barrier roughly $32,000 per physician to initialize, as well as over $1,000 per month for usage. Last years stimulus bill will eventually provide incentives to help offset some of these costs. Eventually, physicians who choose not to implement EHR will face reduced Medicare reimbursement rates.
As ophthalmologists, EHR records will help improve quality of patient care by facilitating better communication amongst providers and reducing errors. As a specialty that utilizes a great deal of technology, integration of imaging and test results directly into the medical record will be helpful as well. Though the initial implementation process can be quite difficult, the long-term benefits of EHR are well worth the effort.

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