(2009-04-05) Parkinson Emr Reality

Jay Parkinson on what can be realistically expected from an EMR. We're all used to technology making our lives easier. And docs expect EMRs to do the same - make their jobs easier and more productive with better communication and access to more information that should help them make better decisions at the point of artful decision making. If doctors would just kick back and stop complaining and finally accept what EMRs were born to do - be tedious billing engines that satisfy the millions of different rules from the hundreds of various insurance companies - maybe they'd stop having such animosity toward these "technologies." The problem is, the modern doctor is used to working with tools that are enjoyable and benefit them directly, like Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, etc...and now they're forced to use horrible interfaces with functionality that's meant to maximize someone else's profits.