Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Systems
While modern electronic medical record (EMR) systems have, in many ways, been a tremendous success, they have ultimately failed to communicate with each other in any meaningful way, forcing the medical provider to adapt their documentation habits in an ever-changing environment. One recalls the narrator from the 1980 film The Gods Must Be Crazy who pointed out that “…civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment.”
- Are our EMRs adapting to our work flow, or are we adapting to them?
- How does this impact our efficiency?
- How does this impact our patients?