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Feature article - CanadianEMR September 15, 2010 eNewsletter

Last week, I asked Dr. Ron Anderson (POSP Education Podcast 6) whether there was anything in his opinion that a paper chart did better than an electronic medical record. He was unable to describe one advantage of a paper chart over an EMR. Skeptics may call him blinded, an early adopter, a techie! However, he is not alone. I have heard very few physicians who have made the transition from paper to EMR who state that they would go back.

Beyond the obvious advantages of remote access, patient reminders and recall, rapid access to lab results and scanned documents, there are other advantages that one should consider. If you are in the last 10 years of your practice and still have a paper based office, you are at risk of not being able to transfer your patients or find someone to take over your practice if you do not have an EMR.

To be clear. I have not met a single family medicine resident in the last 5 years who would consider joining anything but an EMR-based practice. Not only that, but it is almost impossible these days to find a locum who is willing to work in a paper office. Even though we have not yet hit a critical mass of physicians and practices (in my opinion over 60%) that have adopted EMRs in Canada, physicians who are now graduating from residency programs are all computer literate. More than that, the prophecy is complete. EMRs are becoming the norm and there is no going back.

Closing down a medical practice requires a transition strategy. Chart storage and retrieval are costly - scanning (either on your own or via a commercial service) is another option. Read this posting in the CanadianEMR Blog and add your thoughts or comments

Read More: http://blog.canadianemr.ca/canadianemr/2010/09/closing-down-a-medical-practice.html