Update: EMR Grand Rounds - President Obama’s Stimulus Package
A "peer-to-peer" event was held on April 30 to help Rhode Island physicians learn about federal stimulus funding opportunities and adopting electronic medical records (EMRs). More than two hundred RI physicians and practice managers registered to attend the information session.
The Rhode Island Quality Institute (RIQI), Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS), and Quality Partners of Rhode Island (QPRI) conducted an information session where physicians were able to learn about the funding available to physicians through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and what they need to know about implementing an EMR if order to qualify for these funds.
Rhode Island physicians who are leaders in health IT adoption were at the session to share their experiences and answer questions regarding a wide range of EMR adoption issues, including: EMR benefits 101, Financing and Incentives, Selecting the Right EMR for your Practice, Working with Consultants and Vendors, Preparing for Successful Implementation, and Surviving the First 6 months.
Click here for Dr. Yul Ejnes' keynote presentation.
To order copies of the 38 page “Take Your Practice Digital: EMR Adoption Guidebook” please contact Jennie Chiller by email at jchiller@riqi.org or by phone at 401.276.9141 Ext. 278.
A Shift to Consumer-Empowered Health Care
After forty years of consideration, the concept of electronic health records is becoming a reality. Consumers report being interested in a secure online, health record information system that puts them in the driver seat. Read consumer surveys. There are wide-spread benefits to a statewide system that would link electronic health records and focus health care on patients in ways never before possible. Doctors are also gratified by the prospect of gathering and maintaining up to date clinical records available electronically. This will allow them to easily identify trends in lab results and forward reports to other physicians you may be seeing.
Physicians and providers who connect to such a system will demonstrate their commitment to improve health care and be rewarded by greater knowledge and more efficient practices. They will be freer to do what they do best—take care of patients not paperwork. Learn how physicians locally are uniting to make electronic health records more affordable and easier to adopt.
There is no doubt that plugging medical practices into the 21st Century will benefit everyone—however that is only half the solution
An information technology system connected to every physician and health care provider in the state would allow, with patient consent, medical care providers to access health histories when needed. However, for this to work, every participating physician and health care provider would need to install electronic health records with compatible formats. This connectivity piece would allow the individual systems to talk to each other and is crucial if the statewide system is to work.
Connecting electronic health records to a secure system will provide reliable, real-time access to patient health information, when it is most needed to support care. Both authorized medical care staff and consumers could review and update information electronically using a system that transmits data via a secure Internet portal, similar to the one used by the nation’s air traffic controllers. The system could also merge information from outside sources such as patient monitors, lab equipment, and pharmacies, provide recommendations, and send alerts about a patient’s condition. Knowledge tools would be at the physician’s fingertips to keep them up to date. An electronic health record system would enable your doctor to more easily classify and respond to potential health risks, track test results, and avert potential problems. Learn about the Statewide Health Information Exchange.
What if your medical information could be at the finger-tips of any member of your health care team, anywhere in the state, the instant you need it?
Right now you have to carry your medical records from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital to be sure your medical information gets into the right hands, but where will your records be when you have an emergency? A Statewide Health Information Exchange will make sure your records are available where you need them when you need them.
