Is your doctor going digital? Have you filled out new patient paperwork on line lately? Was there a laptop or tablet in your physicians’ hands when she saw you last? If not, be ready for these and other electronic experiences soon.
There is so much progress being reported about the ease and efficiency and a multitude of other benefits of entering and storing medical records as digital or electronic files. Even with all that we see happening all around us, it is clear that many questions remain yet to be explored and many more questions still need to be answered. For whom are medical records easy: the doctor, the clinic’s medical staff, the insurance companies and/or the patients? Regarding privacy issues, who gets to have access to digital records and how do we know they are secured from people who shouldn’t be peeping? How do we as the health care provider differentiate in our record-keeping among patients who utilize government-funded insurance where there are certain requirements versus those who are private insurance subscribers? What aspects of our records are required by law and the insurance companies and what aspects do we choose to utilize on our own?
Michigan Spine and Pain is considering these issues and many others as we look at the variety of ways that we can utilize electronic record keeping in the best interests of our patient community. As we research a few of the latest and some of the most trusted trends, let us know what you think about your experiences in our offices. Your feedback is valuable to us as we strive to keep up to date with important best practices in office management. If you are interested in learning more about the subject of electronic records including some insights on a few of the forces shaping the discussions, we encourage you to read either of the following articles. We found them to be well-written with unique perspective on the complex components of record keeping as it relates to medical care.
