The following question was submitted by a visitor to CanadianEMR.
"Quick question for you: what is your opinion on full emr packages for specialists. I'm thinking of dermatologists, specifically. Do you have a feel for which package is more popular amongst them and why?
Any input you could provide would be appreciated."
Answer: In my opinion, the question that is being asked is "What type of User Interface do specialists need when selecting and EMR in comparison to family physicians?" Essentially whether specialist or FP, the physician is accessing the same data to a greater or lesser degree. In family practice, the need for information is significantly greater because of the large range of problems and network of providers that need to engaged in the management of specific conditions.
Specialists tend to deal with a much more finite subset of information and their needs are narrower. That is not to say their needs are greater. Whether family physician or specialist - the EMR system needs to meet the needs of any provider efficiently and in a manner that fits into the workflow of that provider.
Dermatology is a very interesting area in terms of EMR, because dermatologists tend to use images to document many conditions. In addition, they tend to see a high volume of patients and generate specialist reports that are very similar providing an opportunity to develop templates. An interesting development on the imaging side is the new range of wireless digital cameras that we will be seeing in 2005 - see Kodak Easyshare Wireless. The way that I see this working is that the EMR system for the dermatologist will allow the physician to open a patient record, record notes using either templates or speech recognition software and will also allow for the capture of images wirelessly which would then be automatically inserted into the patient record for future reference.
The bottom line is still to understand the needs of the physician and seek a solution that maps to those needs effectively. Does the specific EMR system exist? I am not certain and do not recommend specific EMRs, however if you presented the above scenario to a dermatologist, I think you would find it would meet their needs quite effectively.
If you would like to comment on this posting, please click on the 'Comments' link below.
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The following question was submitted by a visitor to CanadianEMR.
"Quick question for you: what is your opinion on full emr packages for specialists. I'm thinking of dermatologists, specifically. Do you have a feel for which package is more popular amongst them and why?
Any input you could provide would be appreciated."
Answer: In my opinion, the question that is being asked is "What type of User Interface do specialists need when selecting and EMR in comparison to family physicians?" Essentially whether specialist or FP, the physician is accessing the same data to a greater or lesser degree. In family practice, the need for information is significantly greater because of the large range of problems and network of providers that need to engaged in the management of specific conditions.
Specialists tend to deal with a much more finite subset of information and their needs are narrower. That is not to say their needs are greater. Whether family physician or specialist - the EMR system needs to meet the needs of any provider efficiently and in a manner that fits into the workflow of that provider.
Dermatology is a very interesting area in terms of EMR, because dermatologists tend to use images to document many conditions. In addition, they tend to see a high volume of patients and generate specialist reports that are very similar providing an opportunity to develop templates. An interesting development on the imaging side is the new range of wireless digital cameras that we will be seeing in 2005 - see Kodak Easyshare Wireless. The way that I see this working is that the EMR system for the dermatologist will allow the physician to open a patient record, record notes using either templates or speech recognition software and will also allow for the capture of images wirelessly which would then be automatically inserted into the patient record for future reference.
The bottom line is still to understand the needs of the physician and seek a solution that maps to those needs effectively. Does the specific EMR system exist? I am not certain and do not recommend specific EMRs, however if you presented the above scenario to a dermatologist, I think you would find it would meet their needs quite effectively.
If you would like to comment on this posting, please click on the 'Comments' link below.