Comments on: Dr. Lyle on Information Overload 5/1/09

By: Gregg Alexander

Gregg Alexander — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:35:32 +0000

Amen, Bignurse, amen.
Dr. Lyle, (forgive me, Brahmans) there is nothing sacred about a cow who leads us down a wasteful path. Thanks for highlighting a smarter priority for EMR adoption resources. Dr. Diamond’s differentiation of “availability, not
intrusion, of EMR data” should become a new rallying cry for clinicians.

By: Bignurse

Bignurse — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:33:13 +0000

As Dr Lyle’s post implies, the problem is the ongoing perception that we should be interoperating “records”. Actually, what we need to be sharing is the patient’s Care Plan. The only data worth sharing is that which relates to the Plan of Care, whether there be several chronic conditions, or a single acute condition. Allergies, meds, lab tests — their value is only relatiive to a plan of care. A shared or Virtual Care Plan would provide a new paradigm for arranging and displaying the patient’s medical data as much more than simply elements of an electronic “record”.

By: RustBelt Fan

RustBelt Fan — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:08:38 +0000

Interesting comments from Dr. Lyle Berkowitz. While I think he makes a relevant point about info-overload, I can’t help but think about the need to evaluate workflows in a primary care practice and the need for a medical team directed by a physician, etc. (i.e. PCMH). If physcians and nurses/MAs and ancillary staff work together, then the doc can specify which of the multitude pieces of info he needs for each type of patient visit and have team members locate only that and tee it up for these visits. It needs to be a team effort or we will get overloaded.

By: Joel Diamond, MD

Joel Diamond, MD — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:39:35 +0000

Lyle,
Great post! It seems like so much of our interaction with the EMR is not for patient care, but rather for the benefit of insurance companies and attorneys. With respect to interoperability, the goal of having all data “available” should not intrude on efficient and meaningful doctor-patient interaction. Lyle, you have been an evangelist for changing the way we interact with data. Your comments cut perfectly through the frequent off-base technical discussions on this subject.

By: Cowgirl in the Dust

Cowgirl in the Dust — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:37:48 +0000

Your issue (a good one) isn’t about interoperability. It’s about the functionality of an EMR to let you parse information to get to what you need without wading through unrelated information. Good ones do that.