"We're just starting, but I'm not looking forward to it."
I can write a Viagra prescription in 35 seconds and hand it to the patient. It's going to take 4 or 5 minutes to e-prescribe, and I won't know if the patient gets it.
The bonus reimbursement is the only reason we're doing it."
"We haven't started e-prescribing yet because our practice plan is to go with EMR by 2010 and start e-prescribing then. I don't like to be the very first to get into any of this anyway, plus the climate continues to change on reimbursement, so we decided to ease into this, but we don't want to be the very last, either.
As urologists, we routinely write about a dozen prescriptions. I'm hoping e-prescribing can streamline that process. I hope it will cut down medical errors, although I don't get many phone calls because people can't decipher my writing."
Michael K. Zenni, MD
Evansville, IN
"We've had our EMR since 2002, so we started the e-prescribing a while ago. It's worked well; I assume it's been good for patients. We get notified automatically on refills, so that saves the time of patients calling and it's more accurate because you don't have to worry about legibility.
In the office, we order medication through the chart: We just pull your name down and the medication and as long as we have the pharmacy in our data bank, it goes right out.
We haven't filed for the bonus reimbursement because it's not a simple process. Medicare doesn't just give you money. There are a certain number of steps, and we haven't done that yet."
Marc B. Applestein, MD
Laurel, MD
"We've been e-prescribing for about 6 months.
The convenience is nice. I can write a quick note and my nurse gets it off to the pharmacy.
I'm concerned about long-term control and fraudulent use of prescriptions. A person can steal a prescription pad, but I hope the e-prescriptions have encryption that will keep us safe. We had an issue here with someone getting hold of a physician's DEA number and calling in prescriptions at several places around the region. Fortunately, the pharmacy double checked.
I hope we get the bonus reimbursement; I'm leaving that up to my office manager. You can't walk away from that, but that was not our motivation."
Michael M. Wilson, MD
Fayetteville, AR
Data-driven health care: Who it will benefit, and how
September 1st 2012Early adopters of health information technology have been creating electronic health records for over 10 years. With the creation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and its incentives, the pace of clinical data accumulation is accelerating.
What is cloud computing, and how can it help your urology practice?
August 1st 2012Storing data remotely allows for access from anywhere using the Internet, so, for example, a cloud-based EMR allows urologists in your practice to access and update charts from home or on the road using a smartphone or tablet.
'Meaningful use' of an EHR system: How to achieve it in your urology practice
February 1st 2012This article defines meaningful use, lists the elements necessary to qualify for those elusive meaningful use incentives, and helps you decide whether and when your practice might want to engage in the process of EHR implementation.
Electronic medical record modification allows for automated data retrieval
October 1st 2011Urologists at Cleveland Clinic have undertaken a pilot program involving modification of a commercial electronic medical record (EMR) system to facilitate clinical research and clinical practice outcomes analysis in a way that overcomes the obstacles presented by the record-keeping technology.