Using EHRs Appropriately: A Team-Based Approach to Clinical Care

Unfortunately, Anderson believes that physicians across the country are using only 10 percent of an EHR’s capabilities, at most. And that’s because physicians have no time to learn it, he says. “We have a [society] that is aging and we need time to see them. In short, we are just overworked.” But after nurses and MAs started inputting patient data into the EHR before he saw the patients, Anderson started to notice things were changing. “The EHR started giving me accurate charts, which I never had before. I finally stopped worrying about lawsuits because I knew all the data was correct and documented. Instead of letting it destroy you, let it build your practice. And to be honest, the nurses and MAs do a better job with it than I ever could.”

And what’s worse, continues Anderson, is that less than 2 percent of physicians have an idea about what’s on the horizon in regards to the ACA. “Physicians are hoping this all goes away; they are doing their best to ignore it. If they had the money, 60 percent of doctors would retire today. Ultimately, you must get people back to the physician that knows them. If emergency room (ER) or urgent care centers were equal to familiar physicians, we wouldn’t be in this crisis and healthcare wouldn’t be breaking the economy. With a medical home and robust primary care built around a personal physician, you will change healthcare. This will be the rebirth of American medicine, and the EHR has to be a part of that, because patients have too many illnesses and data points. Paper is archaic.”

While Anderson insists the change is necessary, he doesn’t think it’s incredibly difficult or even too time-consuming, estimating that productivity can increase within six months time. He recalls the story of a patient who hadn’t been in the office in nearly two years. Because of the capability of the EHR to keep patient data, an MA called the patient to schedule a mammogram. Because it had been two years, the patient was shocked and amazed that she was called, says Anderson. And it turned out that when she came in, the mammogram revealed that she had carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer. “It got removed, no problem. The EHR helped save her life,” boasts Anderson. “The EHR is the sharpest two-edged sword in medicine. It can do great things if used correctly, and can destroy your practice if used inappropriately.”