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Doctors Enticed to Sign-on to Electronic Health Records

Federal and State Agencies Trying to Help Doctors Implement EHR

July 12, 2010

Many private practice doctors in small offices don't use electronic record systems, often because they feel they can't afford such systems or don't have the technical expertise to implement them and keep them running. The federal government is trying to change that situation by using stimulus money to give bigger Medicare and Medicaid payments to doctors who install Electronic Health Records (EHR) over the next few years. In 2015, the feds will start cutting payments for doctors who don't have approved systems in place.

"We're going to have our hands full helping the people who want help", Amy Andres, Chairman of the Ohio Health Information Partnership, one of the many organizations across the nation to receive money to help doctors and hospitals install EHR systems.

However, Dr. Rood is unsure whether those incentives will work because they don't help doctors jump what he says is the biggest hurdle to installation: upfront costs. If Dr. Mark Rood wasn't so good with computers, the electronic health record system that he and the other two doctors at South Russell Family Practice use would have been out of their price range.

On the other hand, Allan Fentner, practice administrator for Westlake-based Orthopedic Associates, said he feels lucky the practice's electronic record system implementation went so well back in 2005, after hearing "horror stories" of implementations gone wrong. Getting buy-in from all of the practice's 12 physicians, some of whom work in Lakewood and Avon, was essential, he said.

The software, hardware and training for the system cost the group about $225,000, which comes to about $19,000 per physician. It paid for itself because it allowed the group to eliminate seven full-time positions through attrition. "I had the payback projected at three and a half, four years, and we did it in two," Mr. Fentner said.

Dr. Jay Noreika also is a big supporter of electronic records, as someone who toyed with rudimentary systems years before implementing in 2004 a full system at his two-doctor practice, Excellence in Eye Care of Medina. He recognizes that electronic record systems are expensive, but private practice physicians are going to need them to remain competitive, he said.

Electronic Health Records have a positive impact on how a medical office collects, manages, shares and protects all the critical information needed for patient records. Voice Recognition driven ChartLogic EMR, with its PrecisionVoice^TM system allows doctors to complete their patient documentation in a fraction of the time and realize the financial benefits of electronic health records. Because the patient record is done digitally, it eliminates paper cost, along with the costs of clinical support staff duplicating the physician's documentation work. Many ChartLogic users have found success in using the ChartLogic "one-screen approach" that is simple and easy for the physician to learn but more importantly allows the doctor to enter data as quickly as possible. Add in the stimulus incentives by the government, physicians can achieve efficiency with a better return on investment.

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Doctors Enticed to Sign-on to Electronic Health Records
Crain's Cleveland Business

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Electronic Health Records...Better Patient Care since 1994. ChartLogic has helped thousands of practices make the transition from paper to digital medical offices. Guaranteed to meet "meaningful use" requirements, ChartLogic offers two comprehensive electronic health record suites that include electronic medical records, superior medical billing software, document management, and interactive patient education. ChartLogic helps physicians provide better patient care through better technology. For further information, visit www.chartlogic.com.

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