If you were to read only the headline of Forbes’ article on electronic health records (EHR), you’d
think they were the bane of the healthcare industry: “Electronic Health Records – Expensive, Disruptive and Here to Stay.”
The article leads with saying physicians are doing more than just treating patients today; despite a lack of human resources and more patients that need help, doctors, especially those in the emergency room, are losing valuable time with their patients due to the regulations regarding electronic personal health records.
Patients can now expect that every interaction they have with doctors is electronically documented, which means doctors are required to keep an accurate record of everything they’ve done and then manually enter it into a system that stores and shares the information with the appropriate people, patients included. The same is being demanded of radiologists. Under the Stage 2 regulations of Meaningful Use, radiologists have 24 hours after a procedure to submit an electronic report on to the patient.
The Forbes article points out that EHR is “exceptionally expensive,” and when you take into account the implementation process and the education required to learn the system, it’s also time consuming.
Kathleen Sebelius, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services says progress had been made, but others say the road to full implementation of EHR is long and many healthcare organizations are nowhere near the destination point. The goal of EHR is to improve care, but some critics are saying there is no proof that this will actually occur. While Sebelius pointed out before her departure earlier this year that around 80 percent of hospitals had adopted their new EHR system, critics say there is a big difference between implementing a system and knowing how to utilize it.
The possible shining light for providers facing issues with their electronic personal health records is coming in the form of vendor neutral archiving, or VNA. When a provider installs a VNA system, they are able to archive clinical images in a format that doesn’t discriminate. This means disparate systems across department or from facility to facility won’t be shut out from viewing clinical images just because their EHR and/or picture archiving communication system is different.
In too many cases, vendors are requiring doctors to work with their system instead of having the system work for the healthcare professionals. Vendors who work with true VNA technology are getting it right. They’re putting power in the hands of the professionals who can offer the best care to their patients. Forbes points out that there is “no slowing the EHR train,” but with VNA at the ready, this shouldn’t be such a huge issue for the industry.
One vendor that is getting electronic personal health records right is OffSite Image Management, Inc. At OffSite, we extend a true VNA platform to providers, giving them a low-cost yet high-quality option to EHR. Those in the rural communities are some of the biggest proponents of this technology as they have fewer resources and are getting hit hard by the federally mandated EHR requirements. Contact us today and find out how our solutions will benefit you.