Saving Time With Mobile EHRs
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Accessing patient records on the go is showing a significant savings of time for one Washington health network
Physicians spend 44 percent of their time on EHR work as opposed to 28 percent of their time seeing patients. With EHRs becoming such a burden, saving even a minute counts. Now, according to Government Health IT, one provider has found a way to do just that.
Pediatric Associates, a seven-clinic health network based in Bellevue, WA, recently began using the Greenway PrimeMOBILE app for Windows 8. This allows doctors access to the EHR system while making rounds and has already saved a significant amount of time. Medical assistants at Pediatric Associates are also using the app on Microsoft Surface Pro 2 tablets to quickly document vital signs.
"It's a minute saved here and there," said Brock Morris, the network's CIO. "Maybe 10 minutes with sick patients, 20 minutes with well-check appointments, adding up to 30 minutes a day. There's very real potential there. You can turn that time into better patient engagement." For Morris having the ability to access and update EHRs while with a patient instead of having to wait to use a busy workstation and rush through appointments is essential. Additionally, he feels patients like when their physician is current on the latest technology trends. "If we're not using technology, then they don't see us as a quality organization," he added.
"The biggest benefit has been when the doctors go out to see patients in hospitals, particularly new babies," Morris told Information Week Healthcare. "They can create the account, so to speak, and begin to document the patient the very first time on newborn babies. The doctors say things like that it improves their cool factor. There's a change in the interaction when doctors are using mobile devices and new apps. In the demographic we're working with, it's what parents expect."
According to mHealth News, Johnathan Samples, Greenway's executive vice president of innovation said, "In a couple of years, tablets will be the norm in healthcare. You need a native mobile solution for that, not one that interrupts a physician's workflow and creates any obstacles, because then they won't use it."
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