Nemishh Mehta and his wife Shilpa, both primary-care physicians, had long dreamed of working together in their own practice. The Bear, Del., residents had been working successfully in separate practices, but they were left cold at those offices by what they perceived as an impersonal style of practicing medicine.
“We wanted to do things our way,” explains Nemishh. “We wanted to get to know our patients; we didn’t want them to feel like they didn’t have time to talk to us, or that we were rushing them out of the office as soon as possible to get on to the next patient.”
Would such an old-fashioned practice philosophy hold up in the modern world of healthcare economics? The Mehtas were determined to find out.
But they were clear on one thing from the start: To survive, the physicians themselves would have to perform virtually all of the practice’s administrative functions, meaning they would need to work as efficiently as possible. To do it, they were open to implementing any technological assistance.
Their story is one of hundreds that physicians and practice managers across the country shared with us as part of our second annual Physicians Practice Technology Survey. Our purpose: to sort through all of the hype about EMRs, practice management systems, and other gadgets and gizmos and give you the straight scoop on how private medical practices really use IT.
We couldn’t have done it without them. Or you.
Survey reveals tech-savvy docs
Some 365 physicians and practice managers nationwide completed our online tech survey, with three out of four respondents representing small practices of five physicians or fewer. Respondents split evenly between primary-care and multispecialty groups (51 percent), and medical and surgical specialty groups (49 percent).
What strikes us most about the responses? It’s how far practices have come in just a few years in their attitudes regarding the necessity of — or at least the added convenience and efficiency offered by — healthcare IT.
Ira Rubin, a primary-care physician in Naperville, Ill., recalls his four-year effort beginning in 1990 to convince his partners just to buy a computer. Once persuaded, Rubin says, “It took about six months to convert our billing records from old ledger cards to the DOS program. After that, there was no going back. … There were a number of glitches, but overall we have become more efficient [and have] generated more income.”
From skepticism about the need for a basic PC to a cautious openness toward complex, expensive EMRs and other technologies, physicians appear to have taken major strides toward becoming tech-tolerant if not downright tech-savvy, if our poll is any indication. For the most part, physicians told us that they have come to terms with (and are even mildly enthusiastic about) the growing use of EMRs and other practice management technologies.
Daniel Lazar was the head cheerleader for purchasing an EMR for his primary-care practice in Skokie, Ill. He told us that the transition was “intense,” as expected, requiring him to take several days away from seeing patients to familiarize himself with the system. But for the most part the EMR has made practicing easier and more lucrative and has made him and his partners better physicians, he says.
For example, Lazar loves the drug-interaction warning system his Misys EMR contains. He raves about being able to work from home when he’s on call. But his favorite benefit of the EMR is the ability it’s given him to provide better service to his patients. And that benefit extends to his interaction with other doctors: He can quickly pull a patient chart when they call unexpectedly.
“Overall the quality of care has truly improved,” Lazar tells us. “Legibility and access to records, as well as access to data within records, have all contributed to improved quality.”
