Mobile EHR Offers Ease, Efficiency For Family Docs

By Scott Westcott, Contributing Writer

At a small family practice in Hickory, NC, doctors have found a mobile EHR solution that has seamlessly moved their office into the digital age.

When Dr. Aimee Cavendish joined a new family practice in the small town of Hickory, NC, she found something that’s increasingly rare in the medical world — pens and pads of paper. The office at Hart Family Practice was operating with a paper chart system for tracking patient records. At first, Dr. Cavendish found the approach refreshing — charting with paper carried some in-the-moment ease that she hadn’t experienced at previous jobs where she used an EHR.

Yet, the many downsides to paper charts — ranging from compliance concerns to efficiency issues — already had prompted Dr. Eric Hart, the physician whose practice she joined, to begin exploring options for transitioning to an EHR. As the practice grew, accessing paper records was becoming more labor intensive, not to mention the time consumed by writing out prescriptions and handling other paperwork manually. Further, filing cabinets full of paper records were consuming more than their share of space in the small office where the two doctors lead a staff that includes an office manager, two receptionists, and three nurses.

“The big problems with paper are with access and organization,” says Dr. Cavendish. “You just can’t find things easily. When it comes to quickly locating labs and test results, an EHR makes it a lot easier. Plus, once you get set up, it makes a lot less work for the office staff.”

After evaluating their options, the doctors selected Care360, a solution offered by Quest Diagnostics that they felt could meet current and future needs at the growing practice. The Care360 EHR solution offered a HIPAA-compliant mobile app for the iPad that would allow physicians to freely interact with patients and access information anytime and from anywhere.

Mobility Enhances The EHR Experience
Initially, it took some time for clinicians to adapt to the EHR solution, particularly because the office was transitioning from paper to digital records, as opposed to integrating from another EHR system. So one by one, the files had to be pulled from the cabinets, scanned, and entered into the Care360 system.

“For us it had to be a slow integration,” says Dr. Cavendish. “We didn’t start from day one putting all the paper charts into the system. It took a couple months to get all the documents scanned and then entered.”

Drs. Cavendish and Hart initially accessed the system via laptops — an approach that some staffers still use. However, most doctors switched to iPads several months into the integration process. While she liked the functionality of the laptop, Dr. Cavendish says she has found the solution operates most effectively on the iPad using the Care360 mobile app.

“The iPad interface is intuitive, and the form factor is less bulky than a laptop,” she says. “There is a lot of ease in entering data, looking up older information, lab tests, and a patient’s diagnostic history. It’s also easier to share information with a patient using the iPad.”

Quick Scripts, More Space
Dr. Cavendish says she appreciates the ease of making a note, which can be dictated and captured right into the iPad. Yet it is with writing prescriptions that she sees the most pronounced efficiency gains. It’s easy to enter the prescription and then electronically send it to a pharmacy. And once a prescription is entered into the system, refilling the medication is practically automated.

“With most prescriptions, refills rquire just a swipe of the hand to check a box and approve dosages, and it’s done,” she says. “This is easier than writing 20 scripts out on paper over and over again.”

According to Dr. Cavendish, another benefit of the Care360 system is the seamless manner whith which it makes software and security updates. Previous EHRs she used often required the system to go offline for several hours at a time while updates were made. With Care360, these updates are automatically downloaded and incorporated during downtime.

Dr. Cavendish says using the iPad instead of a laptop helps facilitate conversations and gives more attention to patients. “I don’t want to get stuck looking at a screen the entire time I’m examining a patient,” she says. “I’ve been a patient, and I know what that looks and feels like. I use the iPad to share information with my patients. It is less cumbersome than a laptop, and I can pull up lab reports and point out details much easier.”

Dr. Cavendish understands that the move from paper health records to EHRs is more than just a government- driven initiative to keep tabs on providers and facilitate billing. She has experienced firsthand the benefits the technology brings to her practice. These benefits include improved order entry efficiencies, enhanced data accuracy, instantaneous and simultaneous access to patient records (even when outside the office), and a roomier, less cluttered office space that allows everyone to stay focused on patient care. Dr. Cavendish even notes how the technology benefits patients by allowing providers to access their records more easily and quickly.

“Patient data has become very manageable. We still have paperwork, but it goes into a basket and is then scanned and assigned to a patient chart on a daily basis,” Dr. Cavendish says. “The staff was extremely happy the day we put the last paper chart in long-term storage. There’s quite a bit more room to move around, and overall it’s led to a much more efficient office.”