Docs talk about other IT usage

Of course, EMRs aren’t the only tech game in town. Here’s what you told us about voice recognition technology, practice management systems, and other gadgets and gizmos:

• About one in five respondents are using voice recognition technology, the same number as last year. Most practices say it saves some money on transcription costs, but not much time.
  
  
  
  
• Forty-four percent of respondents say they’re using coding software, also about the same as last year. It’s a wonder more physicians don’t look into such software, since 82 percent of those who use it say it has helped increase revenue — if only a little.
  
  
  
  
• It appears many practices have been busy the past few years buying new practice management software, as 71 percent said their systems are no more than four years old. Still, for the 10 percent of you using systems you bought during Bill Clinton’s first term (or even prior to that), perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. Especially since…
  
  
  
  
• There continues to be a significant amount of dissatisfaction with practice management systems. Only a third of practices responding to our survey say their systems do everything they want them to do, the same number as last year. And just like 2005, about six in 10 wish their systems had more robust reporting capabilities.
  
  
  
  

We also asked what, if anything, practices are doing online. We found that most are only inching toward taking full advantage what the Internet has to offer:

• About four in 10 respondents say they communicate with patients via e-mail, but hardly any practices charge patients for the service.
  
  
  
  
• About six in 10 respondents have Web sites for their practices, but very few have interactive features such as online appointment scheduling. Most practice Web sites are informational only.

Lazar cited such a Web site — one that would “enable patients to make their own appointments, fill out all necessary forms online prior to [their] appointment, and enable me to communicate with them via e-mail” — in response to our question, “What would be your dream gizmo?” He adds that he knows interactive Web sites are not really “a dream,” but he says developing one would cost too much.

Other respondents’ dream gizmos? Many physicians hope for a handheld personal digital assistant that can act as an EMR, take dictation, connect them to the hospital, place phone calls, give driving directions, and recommend a good restaurant. Some want better voice recognition systems, others want access to patient records from anywhere, and still others dream of one day learning to use some feature of their existing technology. For example, dermatologist Marla Klein says she “would like to be savvy in sending prescriptions to pharmacies by e-mail,” adding she knows her EMR can do that. “I just haven’t learned how yet.”

Ken Ponder of Niceville, Fla., made us laugh by revealing his Star Trek geekiness when he identified a “tricorder” as his dream gizmo, referring to the handheld device Dr. McCoy used to examine patients.