Although there may be some debate about the extent to which ACOs become the norm in health care depending on the upcoming election, one thing that is here to stay regardless of the Presidential administration is the electronic medical record (EMR). Much has been written about the EMR, a very small sampling of which can be reviewed here and here.
The purpose of this post is not to review the case for and against the EMR. Suffice it to say that there is enormous potential to harness the power of technology to store patient-centered information that can improve the quality and safety of healthcare delivery in addition to improving the ability to conduct comparative effectiveness research. There are some risks, potentially on the privacy side, that cause some to kick the proverbial EMR can down the road not unlike what politicians on both sides of the aisle have been inclined to do with our national deficit. Nonetheless, most experts agree it’s here to stay.
Now that EMRs have been around in the PT industry for at least 10 years, it would be interesting to step back and reflect a bit one which ones therapists are using, pros/cons, etc. Some are designed specifically for use in the PT industry, whereas others were primarily designed for medicine but then extended to PT. Three of the ones that first come to my own mind are WebPT, Source Medical, and Clinicient.
What say you? For example, what features are currently missing that you’d like to see added? Are you using a server- or cloud-based system? Is anyone using an EMR that has the ability to collect clinical outcomes integrated within the EMR? Just hoping to stimulate some good conversation and hopefully give EMR vendors some decent feedback to improve their products and services and ultimately keep rehabilitation on the forefront of technology in health care.
John
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