Comments on: Electronic medical records — required by Obamacare — are costing doctors time while taking them away from their patients. https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/ Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:45:57 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Blair Ivey https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82311 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:45:57 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82311 If your doctor doesn’t accept insurance (like mine), all of these problems go away. Yes, you’re more money out-of-pocket, but when the price of medical services are more-or-less governed by market forces, those services cost a whole let less than you might think.

]]> By: Pzatchok https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82252 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 04:49:47 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82252 I can see a way out of some of this. But as always it will take a bit of technology to work.

Doctors are going to have to ware a voice activated voice recognition data entry system.
Basically as the doctor makes their rounds they have a head set on and as they get to each patient they say the patients name and bed number.
The whole conversation between the two is recorded and after the doctor can make changes to the patients record by voice only.
If the doctor wants to give instructions to the nurse he just adds them to the nurses instruction area. The same with any med changes or tests to be done.

Further details will have to be eventually worked out but I can not see a faster way for the the doctor to keep records updated.
Maybe a data entry person can go over the whole thing during the day at almost the same time to clarify some things the computer got wrong or to clarify things with the doctor/nurse/staff later. Enter the correct US government codes and such.

]]> By: D. K. Williams https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82245 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:21:41 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82245 Obamacare has a fix for that. You won’t be allowed to discuss “new” problems with your doc unless you schedule another appointment. Of course, that adds another layer of costs and inefficiencies. Nevermind.

]]> By: wodun https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82244 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:56:59 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82244 Another aspect is that doctors now have to code everything. So every issue you talk to your doctor about has a separate code. Each code has its own charge and insurance reimbursement.

]]> By: DougSpace https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82242 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:41:01 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82242 Oh, and let’s not forget the nurses. On the floors, they clearly are spending more time typing than nursing.

]]> By: DougSpace https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82241 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:38:01 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82241 Don’t know what y’all will think of this, but I wrote-up a description of what it would look like to design a medical information system where computers are used to the maximum extent currently feasible. This means computers not being used as information storage and retrieval devices but full participants in the patient’s care.

http://dougplata.com/ideas/HealthCareIT.doc

]]> By: D. K. Williams https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/electronic-medical-records-required-by-obamacare-are-costing-doctors-time-while-taking-them-away-from-their-patients/#comment-82233 Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:41:57 +0000 http://behindtheblack.com/?p=21527#comment-82233 Yes, I noted DLS (Doctor Laptop Syndrome) a couple of years ago. Obamacare will just make it worse.

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