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

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.