Inside Health Care: A Doctor, a Nurse, and an Intern Weigh-In on EMRs on KevinMD

Inside Health Care | November 24, 2010

Christopher Johnson M.D., a pediatric intensive care doctor, in his post, EMR Is Here to Stay, says 'some doctors are embracing EMRs with enthusiasm; others find them unhelpful for their area of medicine. Dr. Johnson shares concerns about differences in physician roles, responsibilities and backgrounds as well as potential conflicts from legal and commercial demands that may interfere with taking care of the patient. Despite these qualms, Dr. Johnson finds using an EMR is a powerful addition to his practice and remains optimistic about EMR's potential. Are you optimistic?

Nurse Jared Sinclair R.N., is not optimistic in his post, How EMRs are Failing Nurses. He says that HIT companies have yet to produce an EMR that nurses actually need. He describes EMRs as databases where nurses type some numbers and check some boxes, and nothing more. He adds that nursing calls out for a technology revolution and challenges us to dream bigger reminding us that the 'intrinsic value of technology is its ability to provide solutions to problems we never knew we had. Do you share the same sentiments as Jared Sinclair R.N.?

Learning five EMRs in two days made an internal medicine intern, Angienadia, not only crazy but concerned about patient safety, she writes in Patient Safety Suffers When Doctors are Forced to Learn Multiple EMRs. She is shocked that a universal EMR platform is not used across all medical practices and that they don't communicate with each other. Is it reasonable to ask new doctors to learn five unique EMRs?

What are your experiences as a patient or clinician with EMRs?

Check out their individual blogs. Dr. Christopher Johnson, pediatric intensive care doc, blogs on ChristopherJohnsonMD. Jared Sinclair R.N., an ICU nurse and pre-medical student, blogs at jaredsinclair + com. Angienadia M.D., an intern at Yale, blogs at Primary DX.

More Blog Posts by Inside Health Care

Inside Health Care posts feature recent news and blog posts from the health care community and are part of the Center for Advancing Health’s portfolio of free, evidence-based coverage of what it takes to find good care and make the most of it.

Tags for this article:
Health Information Technology   CFAH Staff   Sarah Jorgenson   Organize your Health Care   Inside Healthcare  

Comments on this post
Please note: CFAH reserves the right to moderate all comments posted to the Prepared Patient Blog. Any inappropriate postings will be removed.

Add Your Comment

BROWSE BY: AUTHOR  |  TOPIC  |  MOST POPULAR

	‘Healthy Privilege’ – When You Just Can’t Imagine Being Sick Carolyn Thomas | May 6, 2013
	Self-Tracking Tech Revolution? Not So Fast… Carolyn Thomas | April 8, 2013
	What Do I Tweet – and Why? Jessie Gruman | April 3, 2013
	An Open Letter to Mobile Health App Developers and Their Funders Jessie Gruman | February 13, 2013

More Prepared Patient Blogs

	How to Make a Doctor Appointment: 10 Steps
	How Do You Tell Your Employer that You Are Sick?
	Sharing Medical Information with Multiple Doctors: Your Medical Records

More Be a Prepared Patient Resources