Bert,
Before you go and delete everything Meaningless could I take your wonderful rant from the other day and post it in Your Name (Credit where Credit it Due...) over at the IMP side of things to show some of the folks over there that there are other small and solo folks who are not of the Lemming Mind Set blindly following a Herd over a cliff to our own funeral??? I meant to ask you that the other night and then it slipped my mind.
It "Amazes" me that so few members over there are not being more Individualistic and taking a stated stance against all of this Meaningless CCHIT... I love how you put it about "So were none of our Visits "Meaningful" before this garbage, and like suddenly they have been Magically transformed like they are....." Not a direct quote for sure but the point and juxiposition of it all is just awesome.... So all you docs Sucked and your visits were Worthless, Meaningless if and until this Magic Bullet came along???? BullCCHIT....
No less we can clearly see that vendors are falling all over themselves to get this CCHIT to market even as their products are suffering in the process.... I mean nobody is coming into any of the offices running AC and saying "Clearly this product is not ready for Prime Time and so you could be at risk of charting inappropriately...."
The poor thing is half stuck in the mud as you pointed out and yet as far as the Gov't Overlords are concerned, This is GREAT and it's worth Paying Us all Money for too!!! So my EMR worked better before the vendor made all of these insane changes just to help some of their customers kiss up to them, and now that it works less efficently, NOW we are "Certified" and worth paying us extra money.... You just CAN'T make this kind of CCHIT up, I swear.....
So the actual Quality of the finished product, be in functionality, software and code, no less actual doctor patient encounter and Doctor Practice efficency is NOT anywhere on this PIGS (the gov't not anybody here) radar screen what so ever.... As long as it can collect the minimun quanity and types of data and then you can report that data back to CMS, then You and your practice are suddenly Meaningful and just as importantly, Worthy of being paid more than the practices and doctors that are smart enough to resist and stick with their other more functional products because they actual care about their practice, their patients, their own sanity, and the Real Quality of the care and the encounter that they provide for their patients....
And for all of you who are not yet in the loop or who have not Found Out Yet what your Boards have done to you, lying in wait to pounce upon you the next time you try to re-up and remain "Certified" and prove that you are a doctor worth of the status of Diplomat you are going to be required to submit some of your Meaningless data to your Board as part of your Re-Cert Process!!!! How about them Apples????
This is the "New Norm" the "New Standard" at both the Ped's as well as the Family Practice side of things.... I do not know what it happening at any other specialties and their boards... But I would gather if this is already the new reality in most of primary care, then it would stand to reason that it is coming to a specialty near you too soon enough... So watch out, try to stop it now if you still can and don't say I didn't warn ya.... 'Cause I did...
Talk to ya later,
Paul
