Blumenthal: EHRs Will Become 'an Absolute Requisite' For Docs

WASHINGTON – It may seem unlikely today, but within the next 10 years there will be widespread use of electronic health records across the country, the nation's health IT chief predicted Thursday.

David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health information technology spoke at the 18th National HIPAA Summit in Washington DC, where other federal officials and stakeholders said the adoption of healthcare IT is urgent.

"History has shown that things that improve healthcare become part of what is used," Blumenthal said. "I propose to you that in a few years doctors will all support EHRs," he said. "Using EHRs will become a core competency for physicians. And once we've established that, it will be considered an absolute requisite."

Blumenthal compared the kick-off of federal incentives for meaningful use of electronic health records in 2011 to boarding an escalator. "I think we're going to see the upward slope of the adoption curve within a year or two; but it will be difficult to predict the slope," he said.

Carolyn Clancy, MD, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, said the usefulness of health data will naturally drive healthcare IT adoption.

"Information is the lifeblood of medicine," she said. "Clinicians are trained to look at patients one at a time. But, what's missing is aggregated information."

Andy Slavitt, CEO of Ingenix said, "One of the saddest parts of our jobs is that no one is asking the questions they once wondered about, but thought there were no answers to. Answers are available, they just aren't getting to doctors. "

Steven Stack, an emergency physician and a member of the American Medical Association's board of trustees said the use of HIT could be both a blessing and a curse. "Doctors don't know how much they don't know. They have no idea they practice differently than other practices."

On the other hand, rules that would determine how a physician must practice should leave room to allow for varying circumstances, especially in the ER, where duplicative tests are most often the norm due to urgency and limited access to patients' medical history.

"There's a lot going on in the trenches that is the only thing that keeps this flawed healthcare system going day in and day out," he said.

Let Profero Solutions help you stay ahead of the curve. Find out what we can do to help you here: www.proferosolutions.com

Do You Help With EMR Implementation?

Yes. With our Go-Live Support you will discover the Profero points of differentiation – Perspective, Performance, Process. Consider it the ultimate triple play for Electronic Medical Record (EMR) implementation. The right people, the right process and the right experience all come together to make your EMR implementation a smooth, efficient process. Look to Profero Solutions to deliver your complete EMR implementation solution.

Perspective
We believe that a successful EMR implementation takes more than just technological expertise. It requires clinical experience in healthcare. Our highly qualified staff go in with the technical know-how to make your EMR implementation a success and the clinical hands-on background that puts them in the unique position to completely understand your specific situation.

Performance
Our team understands the investment you’ve made in your EMR strategy. Our outstanding track record in successful EMR implementations allows us to provide realistic timelines and exceptional project management from beginning to end. We pride ourselves on the ability to expertly manage your implementation on every level — there simply won’t be any surprises along the way.

Process
Our multi-phase process ensures the overall success of your implementation. First, highly qualified, credentialed consultants assist in everything from the building, testing and validation of your EMR software. Next, we initiate a Go-Live strategy that allows your staff to most effectively use their EMR for the first time “live” during an already busy day.

What is EMR?

The definition for EMR on About.com - EMR is an acronymn for Electronic Medical Records. This refers to a paperless, digital and computerized system of maintaining patient data, designed to increase the efficiency and reduce documentation errors by streamlining the process. Implementing EMR is a complex, expensive investment that has created a demand for Healthcare IT professionals and accounts for a growing segment of the healthcare workforce.

Profero Solutions is here to make this all a little bit easier. We work with healthcare facilities to deliver implementation strategies to yield the greatest ROI on their EMR investment.

Our team of specialists understands that a truly successful EMR initiative is a two-phase process that's best implemented by professionals with years of healthcare experience in nursing, healthcare administration or clinical work, in addition to advanced training in EMR technology. This distinction sets the Profero team apart in our ability to understand client needs at a deeper level than typical technology professionals can. Our team members have worked in the healthcare arena; they know firsthand the challenges you face on a daily basis. This perspective makes all the difference in a successful EMR implementation. Your staff can stay focused on bigger issues while our team handles the time-consuming details.

Our services include end-to-end life cycle from design to optimization. We provide full consulting services developed to support most EMR applications. In addition to consulting, Profero Solutions has the ability to provide local licensed clinical professionals to augment your staff during training and through Go Live Support.

If you have any questions, please feel free to visit the website! http://proferosolutions.com/

An Introduction from Barry Horton, Vice President of Profero Solutions

My name is Barry C. Horton. I have over seventeen years of experience in the healthcare consulting arena, including significant experience in implementations of clinical and financial applications at both small and large multi-specialty centers. It’s because of this that I am currently working as the Vice President for Profero Solutions.

Profero Solutions is dedicated to delivering customized implementation strategies to healthcare facilities to maximize the ROI on their EMR investment. This investment, in many cases, is one of the most significant in terms of dollars and process change.

As one of the initial Profero Solutions employees, I have been involved in all of the EMR client projects. I have experience in process improvement/redesign, project management, application build, system testing, resource/infrastructure development, resource management, training documentation development, and end user support.

Being a part of the growth of Profero has been rewarding and exciting. Our flexibility in the way we approach each implementation has proven successful in every type of healthcare environment. I’m particularly pleased to be an integral part of EMR becoming the standard in the US and the positive results that these implementations will have on patient care. If you have any questions or would just like to say ‘hello’ please message me!

Warm regards,


Barry.

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