A study published last year by the Alliance for Clinical Education found that just 64 percent of med school programs allowed future docs any use of electronic records. Oh, and of those that do, only two-thirds allowed students to actually write notes within the EHR.
Okay, so med schools are failing to fully prepare students for a future of potential bureaucratized headaches. But this is an interesting predicament, given the EMRs themselves are failing, too (just ask the doctors, the studies, etc.; no one is touting the current state of EMR as exemplary). However, there’s a relevant bit of knowledge here. Call it common, call it what you will, but we believe the best a person can be is well-informed, second to that is uninformed, because the worst spot to be in is misinformed. In this latter case, you not only are contaminated with bad information or insights, but you then have to unlearn what you know in order to move forward.
So, who thinks this finding is bad news? Not us. We’re more concerned with the two-thirds of students who were exposed to today’s kickback-savoring EMR. The same shoddy EMR we’re rejecting by launching our own practice management and EMR software specifically for direct care.