SANFORD, N.C. -- Doctors at Sanford Medical Group have one less thing to carry around when attending to patients.

Share: Is your doctor using electronic medical records in the office? How do you feel about it?

 

Each patient exam room is equipped with a computer, where nurses log patient history information and doctors write their notes from the visit.   Prescriptions are even sent electronically to the pharmacy.

 

How do the patients like it?

 

Dr. John Mangum says he hasn’t had a single complaint since his office went electronic almost five years ago.    He and his colleagues were ahead of the curve.

 

A new report from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) says only 17 percent of doctors in the country are using electronic medical records.    

 

“Immunizations, certain things that need to be checked periodically in diabetic patients, things like that,” said Mangum. “We thought we could keep up with more efficiently and hopefully improve the quality of care.”

 

But even after the decision had been made, the actual transition was painful at times, not to mention expensive.   Doctors and staff worked long hours transcribing and scanning information from 15,000 patient records.

 

And the cost?

 

For this relatively small practice of five doctors, the cost was about $240,000.

 

Cost is the major obstacle for doctors, according to the JAMA study.   But healthcare consultant Will McHenry says those who’ve held out this long may get a break. 

 

“It’s not going to cost as much and there’s going to have to be assistance, not just from the government,” said McHenry, CEO of Healthcare Counsel, Inc. “I see a lot of private companies like a BCBS, which have done a lot for the physician community and I think you’re going to see them contributing to that overall effort.”

 

The plus for insurers and for patients is fewer medical errors. Prescriptions sent electronically are less likely to be lost or filled incorrectly.   And with historical information at their fingertips, any doctor who has access to the medical record knows your health history and medications, leaving less room for dangerous mistakes.

 

McHenry says increased access will come with an internet-based record. Some are in the pilot stages now. Doctors like Mangum are hopeful these new developments will help them overcome issues of compatibility between their office systems and those in other doctors’ offices and hospitals. 

 

“All electronic medical records, if they’re going to be in the marketplace need to have this compatibility, this connectivity,” said Mangum.

 

Security of patient records does not appear to be an issue.

 

McHenry says even in an internet-based system, patients would have control over which healthcare providers could access their information.  

 

In the meantime, some internet providers are encouraging individuals to build their own medical record, and have just taken steps to ensure privacy of personal information. 

 

Privacy issues may become more important with the merging of physician records with those individuals create for themselves.   Legislation proposed in Congress would allow patients to get their health information in electronic form from their doctors who use electronic medical records.