Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

The idea of a paperless office has been around for years. Most agree it is a good idea but the process of eliminating paper has been problematic. With a computer on every desk it seems as if the days of paper are numbered. However, the sales of paper have shown just the opposite.

The backbone of a paperless office is an Electronic Data Management (EDM) System. Medical practices use a specialized EDM referred to as an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) System, also called an Electronic Health Records (EHR) System. This software allows a medical practice to eliminate all the paper records.

As more offices, hospitals, labs, and insurance companies move to EMR the integration between them should continue to grow. The result is reduced overhead in the medical industry. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) thinks this could provide significant savings for Medicare and Medicaid. This is why $19 billion in grants are being given out with the Stimulus Package.

EMRs come in all sizes with a variety of features. Some critical features include

• Full patient history
• Clinical charting
• Lab orders and results
• Patient referrals
• Real-time insurer fee schedules
• Remote access to patient record from hospitals and clinics
• Ease of integration with other EMRs
• Transcription options

While choosing the right EMR is critical a smooth transition also includes medical record scanning and a doctor's review of each record. This will ensure good data once the conversion is complete. Record Nations specializes in making the transition simple and cost effective for practices of all sizes.