the key for me, in using an emr, is to have a central repository of information, for all aspects of patient care, with respect to documentation of visits, prescriptions, referrals and consultations, and billing and payment information.
anything which is done outside of the emr invites a source of confusion, in addition to double entry.
in addition, each potential point of confusion exponentially increases the confusion.
to top it off, if a non-qualified person performs the task of a qualified person, even on instructions, doing so, perhaps to
"make it done so we can get out of here", "we'll do that just this one time", may further increase the confusion and lack of appropriate documentation.
therefore, it would be prudent to minimize and even eliminate
the sources of extraneous data entry, and to make the circumstances which necessitate data entry as few as possible.
in other words, make your office flow such that you
#0)eliminate non-structured care and interactions.
#1)everything is done the same way every time.
#2)clear office policy on how things will be handled
#3)those who violate #'s 1&2 will walk the plank
#4)tasks performed will only be done by those qualified to perform them.
#5)appropriate and timely documentation by the person who has performed the task.
is everybody perfect? of course not, it's a constant process of working toward a better way.
hope that's helpful.
