“If you implement [technology] correctly, it will make you money,” promises James Leavitt, a gastroenterologist in Miami.

That’s a big “if.”

But not too big for Leavitt’s practice. The staff there used its EMR to makeover its work flow, getting every physician on board. The result: more than a million dollars in return for the EMR investment.

Many kudos to Leavitt. Unfortunately, many physicians are worried they won’t get similar results, according to the latest Physicians Practice annual Technology Survey, with 55 percent of respondents stating cost as the most pressing technology problem. Apparently, it’s not so much what technology actually does that matters — it’s the price of technology.

This is our fifth annual Technology Survey. Some things are the same today as when we started: The debate over whether EMRs pay off remains lively. Now, though, it’s pretty clear that it’s not the software itself that makes the difference between an EMR investment that works and one that fails. What matters is how well a practice implements its new system. The process — using EMR adoption as an opportunity to retool work flow and to break some long-held inefficient habits — is what counts.

Here’s the rundown on what physicians like you are thinking about technology. Are you ahead of the curve or behind it?

Cost is king

Cost is the top concern among our respondents, outranking EMRs, billing, and communicating with patients.



In fact, the price of technologies, especially EMRs, evoked a strong reaction in our respondents. Can you hear the rage in these responses?

“Stop ripping off physicians just because we have an MD/DO behind our names.”

“The price of medical software is ridiculous. I think the medical industry and MDs are targets, and the general consensus is that we are poor at business but have extra money.”

“I simply don’t see the value in office software that costs $15,000 to $20,000.

Considering the actual function of the software, these prices are simply ridiculous.” Apparently, technology vendors are joining managed-care companies on physicians’ mental list of people out to get them. It’s an emotional issue.

And yet, the majority of those who bought an EMR — which is certainly the technology du jour — report that the investment was in fact worthwhile. Sixty-nine percent found the EMR increased work flow efficiency, while 70 percent expected to see a return on investment — both promising stats.

And despite the seething comments above regarding cost, reported EMR price tags are all over the map. About a third of respondents paid between $500 and $3,000 per physician. A third paid between $3,001 and $6,000, and 33 percent paid more than $6,000 per doc for their EMR. And get this: 8 percent paid less than $500.

So you can see why it’s a bit hard to pin down what the costs, generally speaking, really are.

Anecdotally, many sense that prices are dropping. “Some companies thought doctors would pour money into it; prices have dropped,” says internist Ronald Hirsch of Signature Medical Associates, Elgin, Ill. Perry Krichmar, a noninvasive cardiologist from Pembroke Pines, Fla., agrees. “There is such a broad range of prices out there, but I think prices are coming down as competition gets more fierce,” he says.