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I find it ironic that after investing money and effort in an EMR implementation, many organizations are still handing out paper forms to collect history, insurance updates and HIPAA acknowledgements. It’s almost like the EMR vendors totally forgot that there is an important step in the information process that requires patients to enter or update certain information.
Well it was only a matter of time before a 3rd party vendor saw the need and filled this void. One such vendor is Instant Medical History (IMH) by PrimeTime Medical Software. This small company is addressing one of my personal pet peeves: Getting a clipboard of forms at check-in and filling out my name twenty times, just to verify what they already know.
IMH has a portal that can be accessed by the patient at home or through a kiosk at the office. The patient enters the required identifiers; like appointment date, last name and telephone number. Then they are able to fill out their medical history electronically. Once they complete the questionnaire it is sent to the EMR for review by a Physician or Nurse. Simple, elegant, and about as much effort to install as a Lab interface.
I was not able to find other vendors that provide this same type of portal, but if anyone knows of one, please post it. I say this because I have a doctor’s appointment coming up and I just know that I will get a stack of forms on a clipboard at the new and improved EHR clinic.