Physicians: How EMRs affect staffing; it all depends
Pamela Lewis Dolan’s column in American Medical News (amednews.com), posted October 5, 2009, writes “What happens in terms of the number of staff — and how the EMR changes what that staff does — will largely depend on the problems the practice is looking to address with automation.” Physicians need to set clear goals, understand their current workflows, and communicate openly with staff. Various scenarios described in Dolan’s interviews and a list of areas to look for return in investment in EMRs–from saving on paper costs to eliminating paper data destruction–are helpful guides.

Before buying an EMR system, learn from others’ mistakes
Pamela Lewis Dolan’s June 22, 2009 column in American Medical News (amednews.com) focuses on learning from other physician experiences by networking to EMR veterans with a list of questions Dolan provides and avoiding 8 common pitfalls.

Check out a previous post for physicians on e-Healthcare Marketing.