Tracking down hard copies of patient records might soon be a thing of the past.
By the end of March, doctors at Boynton Health Service will be able to access patient files with the click of a mouse. Computers will generate notes, making records available for doctors and laboratory technicians who need them.
“It will reduce a lot of manual processes,” said Carl Anderson, chief operating officer at Boynton. “It will save us a lot of time finding information because everything will be available on the computer.”
The move comes two years after President George W. Bush called for a nationwide use of electronic health record systems in his 2004 State of the Union address.
Boynton plans to install a NextGen Emergency Medical Records system. The switch will cost between $700,000 and $800,000, Anderson said.
Dr. Deborah Sandberg, one of a core group of physicians trained extensively on the program, said the new system is one of the top five electronic medical systems nationwide for clinics according to the American Family Practice Board.
“I think that given the way the digital media is used in the rest of the world, it’s more or less time the medical world catches up,” she said.
Doctors who have tried the new program said it will take a while to adjust to the change and that, at least in the beginning, Boynton will use both paper and electronic records to make sure nothing is missed.
“Anytime you do a change to how you work, it’s always difficult,” said Dr. Joe Caron, another core group member.
But once doctors get used to the new system, he said, it should provide more accurate recordkeeping for patients and allow doctors to make better medical decisions.
Along with the new method of documenting a visit, the program will help physicians identify each patient’s primary care provider. It will also help for insurance billing purposes and allow technicians to receive requests for lab work faster.
Anderson was quick to address the issue of privacy for patient records.
“There are a lot of privacy safeguards built into the system,” he said. “It’s very hard for information to fall into the wrong hands.”
Doctors need passwords to access the system. Also, the network is administered and monitored carefully to make sure that only people who need the records can look at them.
Boynton is not the only clinic moving toward a more digital patient record system. Park Nicollet Health Services has already moved toward the new system. Park Nicollet made the move in summer 2004, digitizing more than 2 million patient records.
Laura Kohn, a sophomore kinesiology student who works as a medical receptionist at Park Nicollet, said she likes that patient records have gone electronic.
“It’s a lot easier to keep track of and there’s a lot less room for error,” she said.
Caron said, “More and more medical facilities are moving toward electronic records. The organizations that start now and have electronic records in place are going to be much better off.”