You Can't Just Point and Click Your Way to Successful EHR Implementation  

The message is clear: The way to the future will involve some type of electronic medical records (EMRs, or electronic health records, EHRs). EHRs are a priority of healthcare advocacy groups, and physicians, prompted by PQRI and e-prescribing incentives, already have adopted EHRs in record numbers.

EHRs promise many advantages - no more trying to decipher illegible handwriting, and no more searching for lost and misfiled charts. Imagine, all the answers just a few keystrokes away!

But the true promise of EHRs, improved patient care, depends on the quality of the records themselves. EHRs may be a worthwhile investment, but any computer software is only as good as the person trained and able to use it. Quality is not a guarantee. As the saying goes, "Garbage in equals garbage out."

For instance, consider the scenario I encountered during a recent audit. The physi...