Physicians Celebrate EHR Independence
As we prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, I’m reminded of this story. Last fall, the Chief Medical Officer at a health system in Southern California stood proudly before his team of physicians and...
View ArticleCan You Be Patient With Your EHR?
Every week or two it seems some new study reinforces the notion that physicians are having an awfully tough time with EHRs. Completing documentation and placing orders takes longer on the computer; the...
View ArticleRallying Physicians to Fix EHRs
There’s a long history of physician dissatisfaction with clinical information systems. Next week, the AMA brings its campaign to collect physicians’ personal testimony to PatientKeeper’s neighborhood,...
View ArticleGreen Eggs and Hippocrates
Believe it or not, Dr. Seuss has something to teach physicians about healthcare IT. I’m thinking specifically of a lesson from Green Eggs and Ham: Sooner or later, we all have to do something we don’t...
View ArticleA Resounding “Meh” from Hospital CIOs
In a recent survey of CHIME members conducted by Impact Advisors, researchers reported “over 70% of respondents agreed… that the top IT priority for their organization right now is projects that help...
View ArticleMed Wreck
Life is full of complicated processes: cell metabolism, human learning and Congressional legislation, to name just a few. To this list many healthcare providers would add medication reconciliation....
View ArticleNew Year, Familiar Challenge
The most significant IT-related change in healthcare over the next several years will involve processes as much as technology. I’m referring to EHR optimization, specifically to improve physicians’...
View ArticlePushing for Productivity
Many thorny issues are raised in last weekend’s New York Times article about how PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center in Oregon is pushing hospitalists for greater clinical productivity. One topic...
View ArticleLessons of Mercy
Process can be as important as technology in order to successfully deploy and gain physician adoption of a hospital EHR. That was the message conveyed by Rahul Agarwal, vice president of business...
View ArticleWhy Not Healthcare?
There was much discussion at #HIMSS16 last week about the difficulties physicians encounter using today’s electronic health records (EHR) systems. In one talk, prominent physician informaticist Dr....
View ArticleToward Technology-Enhanced Healthcare
The drag that IT is placing on healthcare providers is well documented. It’s also a principal reason why U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced with great fanfare at...
View ArticleChange the Paradigm
Today’s EHRs have changed the medical records mechanism from paper to electronic, but not the paradigm. For example, we have told doctors not to write on paper anymore, so now they are doing largely...
View ArticleWhat Bears Can Teach Us About Risk
In July, I visited Alaska with my family. If you haven’t visited Alaska or haven’t put it on your bucket list, you should. It is amazing. One of the things we did when we were there was to go see...
View ArticleThe Future of Mobility in Healthcare
Society is now demanding quick and immediate access to virtually everything with only a few taps on a mobile device. This includes our healthcare needs. Tired of having to wait until your doctor calls...
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