APMR Spinal & Skeletal Pain Medicine, an eight-physician practice based in Upstate New York and in Northern Virginia, installed an electronic medical records system three years ago. Nameer R. Haider, MD, a partner in the practice, makes five points about installing and using an EMR system in a pain practice.
1. EMRs link far-flung sites. Even though APMR's practice sites are more than 300 miles apart from each other, physicians and staff can call up a patient's chart and other information at any location through the Internet-based EMR system. "Access to a medical record anywhere is a huge advantage," say Dr. Haider, who travels frequently between the two locations.
2. Purchasing the EMR. It was a sizeable investment, but a grant from the State of New York paid for about 30 percent of the system's cost. Costs are more or less evenly split between hardware and software, with the cost of training included in the software price. Dr. Haider did not want to discuss the price.
3. Installation was a challenge. "It was chaotic when the system was introduced," Dr. Haider recalls. "It is a steep learning curve." Physicians and staff had to learn the software and get used to having computer-based systems many previously paper functions. But after three years, "I'd never want to go back," he says.
4. Helps ensure payments. "An EMR system ensures the practice is paid for everything it should be paid for and makes it easier to track denials," Dr. Haider says. The practice can develop reports on the most commonly used codes and compare physicians' performance. The EMR also has a patient management component that enables the practice to bill within 24 hours and monitor accounts receivables so that the practice can pursue payment.
5. One downside of EMR. Since Dr. Haider uses an Internet-based EMR, when the system goes down, the practice has no access to medical records. And since the telephone system also uses the internet, phones are down as well. But this has happened only three times since the EMR system was installed.
Learn more about APMR Spinal & Skeletal Pain Medicine.