Interesting news. I wish Jon and everyone at AC well as they move forward.
I am concerned about Pri-Med and also about their parent company, Diversified Communications. A division of DC just acquired Pri-Med last November, 2011. So it's "dog eat dog eat dog."
http://www.expoweb.com/article/diversified-business-communications-acquires-pri-med#.UKlku0KUCLE Pri-Med seems as much about marketing products to docs as it does about CME. I have never attended a Pri-Med meeting--I would rather pay for CME that is free of the heavy taint of the drug companies.
I found the following info on AC's website:
Q. What can Amazing Charts bring to Pri-Med?
Physician level needs assessment ? Amazing Charts will give Pri-Med the ability to deliver individualized continuing education that is based on practice patterns identified through information users provide from their EHR.
Point of Care ? In addition to its live meetings and online CME courses, Pri-Med will now be able to provide education and information support to clinicians and patients at the point of care during a visit. The best way to do that is through an EHR system.
Practice relationships ? Amazing Charts allows Pri-Med to broaden and deepen CME offerings based on de-identified patient and practice data gleaned from an EHR.
So, it sounds like AC will be providing "de-identified patient and practice data gleaned from an EHR" to Pri-Med. The purpose of this appears to be so that Pri-Med can "provide education and information support to clinicians and patients at the point of care during a visit." Sounds like marketing to me. I would be very concerned if AC becomes a marketing tool. This sounds suspiciously like the route Practice Fusion took.
As a physician I feel it is very important that we insulate ourselves (as much as possible) from undue marketing influence. Our focus should be on care of the patient and on doing what is best for the patient--not the drug companies and others. Perhaps I am naive to think that anything in medicine is free of marketing but I don't allow drug reps in my office and would not want them paying to influence my EMR.
What do others think about this?
Hello,
You bring up a very worrisome aspect of this merger. As with most of us who use AC, I have to be very frugal. I have to get CME anyway I can. I wish I could be a purist, but my budget doesn't include CME time or money. I do not mind talking with drug reps to get samples that can help my patients-esp my insulin dep diabetics in the donut hole. The patient assist programs often take about 6 weeks to kick in and the "very simple paperwork" is usually so complicated that many patients cannot negotiate the maze. So we use samples until the patient assist meds can arrive.
I don't like the idea of my EMR being a marketing tool for PHARMA. I am also very concerned about EMR going entirely into the cloud and becoming unaffordable for what it provides. The new cloud version is very appealing, but out of my price range. There may not be a concern about the folks on the edge holding on. AC has allowed us to provide quality care to our patients. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.
PS AFter I reread the above I was reminded of the PHREESIA registration program that was "free" at first. It was free because it showed ads to be patients. We tried it for a while and for our practice it was a NIGHTMARE. My seniors couldn't negotiate the tablets and many patients didn't have the literacy skills to get through the screens. The concept was appealing but, in practice turned out to use more staff time and effort than our previous check in program. We were never so glad as when those horrible tablet went back to the company. In other more metropolitan areas with higher SES and literacy skills, it would be great.
