Healthcare Technology

Small Medical Practices Should Not Be Left Behind as Electronic Health Records Become Interoperable

Patients frequently have one complaint that when they move or switch from one healthcare provider to another, their new doctor does not have easy access to their entire medical history. That means patients must take diagnostic tests that they have already taken, answer questions they have already answered, and describe their conditions as best they can.

For doctors with a new patient to treat, it means charting a course of treatment without a complete picture of the patient's health. For a physician, it's like coming in the middle of a story instead of the beginning.

We live in a time now where almost all patient records have been digitized, making them easy to search and navigate. But unfortunately, we are not yet in a time where all the various electronic health records work together well. Because of different software systems used by other medical practices, hospital chains, and clinics, digitized documents can be challenging to share.

The larger health systems are working on this problem and gradually making electronic medical records more interoperable and centralized. This way, doctors in managed care settings can start their treatment course with a much more complete view of their patient's medical histories. Moving toward interoperability means constantly upgrading technology systems, an endeavor that is both expensive and time-consuming.

But independent physician practices have neither the budget nor the staff to upgrade their technology constantly. So, while the larger health systems can make steady progress, independent doctors may be left behind.

Independent medical practices are already beset by costs that larger systems can absorb more efficiently, including maintaining certifications, compliance with HIPAA laws, collecting co-pays and deductibles, and implementing the ICD-10.

A study that came out last month said that adopting electronic health records (EHR), including addressing interoperability issues, will reduce practice revenue and the number of patient encounters for smaller medical practices. And these practices are already feeling financial pressure.