Electronic medical records--a primer.(GUEST EDITORIAL)

The day will come, probably in the not-too-distant future, when you will have to seriously consider switching to electronic medical records.

Most physicians dread that day, and with good reason: Choosing the right EMR system for your practice is difficult at best, and once you make the choice, conversion is often a nightmare. But unless you'll be retiring soon, it will become virtually inevitable.

There are two good reasons for this.

First, EMR is long overdue. If you compare how medicine was practiced in 1905 with how it is practiced today, virtually nothing is the same--except the way we keep records.

In an era when just about every essential process in medicine is computerized, most of us continue to process clinical data--our key asset--with horse-and-buggy technology.

The result is missing charts, duplication of lab testing, ineffective documentation, and inordinate amounts of time spent on paperwork, not to mention illegible handwriting, poor coordination of care between physicians, and many other problems. Computers can go a long way toward alleviating these issues.

Several studies suggest that EMR does make a difference in health care outcomes, by shortening inpatient stays, decreasing risk of adverse drug interactions, improving the consistency and content of records, and improving continuity of care and follow-up, among other things.