The ups and downs of adopting EMR

I believe the most recent statistic I read regarding the number of medical clinics in the U.S. that have adopted EMR was between 30-40%.  Considering the push toward full adoption of EMR from government agencies and from third party payers with deadlines in the next 2-7 years, we have quite a ways to go in a short amount of time.

For the minority that have already converted to EMR, we can learn a lot from their stories – both positive, negative, and often a mix of both.  Here is a recent post from a physician that speaks to some of the ups and downs that she experienced during the process.  Ultimately, she feels that the positives outweigh the negatives; the outcome was worth the bumps and bruises along the way.

It’s been 21 months since I was forced to convert to an electronic medical record, and I have just now reached the point where I can say that the EMR has had a positive impact in my practice.

Converting to the EMR is not easy. This conversion is not like getting dunked in the river and seeing the light. It’s more like going through Dante’s Inferno. It’s taken me almost 2 years to ascend through the Circles of Hell and I am in Purgatory right now – things aren’t perfect, but I can see Paradise in the distance, and I’m glad I’m here.

No related stories.