Gabrail Cancer Center: Content / Articles / EMR

EMR

on Monday 26 October 2009
by Nash Gabrail M.D.

in Articles
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Electronic medical records
An electronic medical record (EMR) is essentially a medical chart without paper. This is not an idea for the future. Its application in hospitals and medical offices is overdue. Lee Scott, CEO of Walmart, was the keynote speaker at the United States Governors convention last year. He chose to talk about health care in America, and he made a remarkable statement that was obvious, but profound indeed.
Scott said that the health care industry is years behind when it comes to applying digital technology in the medical field--he is absolutely right. Think about it. When was the last time you recall shopping at a grocery store or supermarket and the cashier had to check the price of every item then enter it into the computer?
In many department stores, you don’t even have to encounter a cashier. You use the kiosk where you insert your cash or credit card and off you go--easy, quick, and, of course, accurate. The same can be said about banking, paying bills, filling your car with gas, etc.
Yet, when you go to a medical office, you still have to manually fill forms and copy insurance cards. The nurse will handwrite notes and record vital signs and so does the doctor. When your physician needs to look at your chart, he has to go through the pile of disorganized paper in a folder to see what was done in the past. It shouldn’t be that way, because the technology available now is so good and accurate that paper use in any physician’s office should be reduced by 90% or more. In fact, going paperless is attainable. Our office implemented a 100% paperless system more than 18 months ago which has been the key in winning two national awards, “Best Clinical Practice” and “Best Facility,” among our oncology peers.
More than five years ago, we realized the cumbersome nature of paperwork at our cancer center. We also realized that there was potential for error and inefficiency of a paper system. So, our talented staff designed software to minimize paperwork and it worked 50% better than paper charts. But, as always, we wanted a better system; so, two years ago we purchased an electronic chart medical record (EMR) system. The rest is history.
Now every examination room, the laboratory, research department, nurses’ station, and infusion center are equipped with computers. A total of 90 desktops/laptops are at the disposal of our staff. When the physicians at our center see a patient, we finish the note on the spot. The note is automatically faxed to the other physicians involved in the care. Those physicians get our notes for that day’s visit even before the patient leaves the cancer center.
When I am out of town and a patient or a physician calls me about a patient, I access my patient’s chart (even from outside the country), obtain the details in less than 30 seconds, and address the problem. This is remarkable indeed. But why is it that only 10% of the physicians in the U.S. are using EMR? I think it is due to fear of computers and lack of comprehension of the value and benefits of this awesome system.
The only time we deal with paperwork is when hospitals bring results, via courier, to our office. But this paper stops at the front desk. The results are instantly scanned, digitally placed into patient charts, and forwarded electronically for physicians to review. Even faxes are never printed. Patient results are uploaded into their electronic charts and, again, forwarded to the physicians for their review.
In this day and age when a patient goes to any health care facility, we must be able to access all the information about them at our fingertips--of course, all secured and confidential. This is going to happen--I hope sooner than later--because the technology is available and inexpensive.