Comments on: Intelligent Healthcare Information Integration 6/20/09 http://www.histalkpractice.com/2009/06/20/intelligent-healthcare-information-integration-62009/ Physician practice and systems news and opinion Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:10:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gregg Alexander http://www.histalkpractice.com/2009/06/20/intelligent-healthcare-information-integration-62009/comment-page-1/#comment-360 Gregg Alexander Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:53:04 +0000 http://www.histalkpractice.com/2009/06/20/intelligent-healthcare-information-integration-62009/#comment-360 Agreed, Bignurse. We didn't start out paying bills and transferring funds online; we started with a wonderfully convenient new tool that provided real and immediate value - the ATM. Seems to me we need the EHR version of such real, easily understood, and usable value first. Follow that with some McGuffey Readers for EHRs and a solid system of CONTINUING education for their 3 R's (reading, 'riting, & retrieving) before we have this whole "use 'em or lose" conversation. It's as if we're going to punish the illiterate for their ignorance without offering them any education, or, like forcing folks to take college finals before they've even learned the alphabet. Agreed, Bignurse. We didn’t start out paying bills and transferring funds online; we started with a wonderfully convenient new tool that provided real and immediate value – the ATM. Seems to me we need the EHR version of such real, easily understood, and usable value first. Follow that with some McGuffey Readers for EHRs and a solid system of CONTINUING education for their 3 R’s (reading, ‘riting, & retrieving) before we have this whole “use ‘em or lose” conversation.

It’s as if we’re going to punish the illiterate for their ignorance without offering them any education, or, like forcing folks to take college finals before they’ve even learned the alphabet.

]]> By: Bignurse http://www.histalkpractice.com/2009/06/20/intelligent-healthcare-information-integration-62009/comment-page-1/#comment-358 Bignurse Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:56:43 +0000 http://www.histalkpractice.com/2009/06/20/intelligent-healthcare-information-integration-62009/#comment-358 Dr Alexander, I couldn't agree more. ARRA is putting the cart before the horse. What's needed is an incremental approach to EMR implementation that builds value as each step is achieved. Otherwise you have inconsistent partial usage, features that aren't being used, and confusion and disappointment without knowing how to fix it. The first phase involves a 100% uptime, essential information entered as discrete data, and an organizational committment to sustainability components like ongoing training and updating of clinical lists and templates. Without those benchmarks being achieved, there's no hope of getting interoperability or even consistent quality improvement down the road. Dr Alexander, I couldn’t agree more. ARRA is putting the cart before the horse. What’s needed is an incremental approach to EMR implementation that builds value as each step is achieved. Otherwise you have inconsistent partial usage, features that aren’t being used, and confusion and disappointment without knowing how to fix it. The first phase involves a 100% uptime, essential information entered as discrete data, and an organizational committment to sustainability components like ongoing training and updating of clinical lists and templates. Without those benchmarks being achieved, there’s no hope of getting interoperability or even consistent quality improvement down the road.

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