Friday, January 9, 2009

EMR DOA

"To error is human, to really screw it up you need a computer, to screw it up beyond all possible chances of repair, you need a government designed computer!"
If you really want to get rid of a good idea, let the government get involved. This is what is happening with the EMR systems accross the country. Since the Obama administraction wants to mandate EMR systems, nobody wants to get one. This is because nobody has any idea about just what kind of system the government will mandate and of course every congressman will get involved to be sure that it has some pet issue of theirs so as a result there are no systems currently available that can be purchased that can meet the future over-regulated and Federally screwed up criteria. So, you don't dare invest the money in a system that you will have to throw away in a few years.

We as well as most of the physcians in our area who were getting EMR systems cancelled the orders as did our hospitals.

2 comments:

SeaSpray said...

It doesn't seem right that you can be forced into spending your money on something that will turn into a money pit.

And so instead of options, i.e., Cadillac EMRs vs Pinto EMRs...would it be a universal system? If so because government mandated...perhaps there could be a government bailout for physicians... I mean ..sticking with the current trend and all. ;)

Now if congress is getting involved...a mandated system might be administrations away. :)

Remember the huge computers of the 60s we'd see in movies... the dinosaurs of computer technology? Now here we are with hand held computers at our fingertips.

Just imagine for a minute how awesome the streamlined Star Wars version of EMRs will be... assuming physicians didn't become extinct like the dinosaurs through over regulation. :)

I have one complaint about such advanced technology and that is even though it has so many potential benefits... if there is an error in your records...then it is perpetuated throughout the system and we all have heard stories on how difficult it is to get the government to fix things. Maybe that is erroneous thinking on my part... but I am also uneasy with the idea of so many people having your personal info at their fingertips... privacy and all that.

I don't blame anyone for holding off. Maybe this universal type system will have allowances for program updates, etc.

SeaSpray said...

Off topic and old news, but I just reread your Black Friday post and that is in my book as exquisite med humor. Suicidal beeper..HILARIOUS!

I thought of it because of comment I left in WhiteCoats new blog place White Coat's Call Room. His Chinese Pager Torture, Trench Doc's Throckmorton Salad bar test got me thinking of your suicidal beeper, except I didn't think of it until a little while ago. Very funny!

Ever think of putting up an e-mail address for people to contact you? Sometimes people will say things via mail they don't put in comments.