Posted by: AtlasMD

October 22, 2013

Will Medicine Be Walmart-ized?

In his new essay, David M. Cutler prognosticates an intriguing, yet impersonal healthcare future. He says, “the idea that technology will change medicine is as old as the electronic computer itself.” And we agree with his proposal.

However, there’s a lot of information out there, and for the most part, it’s not made available at the right time. Think about it: how many times do we hear about a patient receiving an incorrect dosage or a drug that causes an allergic reaction? And, as more docs “get wired” and adopt EMRs, there will be even more parties contributing to the collective consciousness of medicine. Just look at the numbers. Since the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created the HiTech program, billions of dollars have been allocated for doctors and hospitals to purchase EHR software/systems. According to Cutler, “Since the program was enacted, rates of ownership of such systems have tripled among hospitals and quadrupled among physicians.”

Okay, but what happens when all of medicine gets connected?

Cutler says healthcare will be delivered in a more standardized fashion, with less overall cost, but less of a personal touch.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

October 22, 2013

EMRs Still Not Very Loved

David Carr is on the beat to find doctors who actually like their EMR. We’re in the process of reaching out to him since we’re excited about the new updates to our Atlas.md EMR. However, we also kind of proved his point. He interviewed a Doctor Denton, who said:

“In contrast, commercial EHR software has to be generic enough to work in many hospitals and all specialties. The result is a compromised design that doesn’t serve anyone’s needs really well.”

As a medical student interning at Intermountain Healthcare in the 1990s, Dr. Denton worked with an early electronic medical records system that was custom built for the hospital. He said it didn’t have everything you wanted, but “it worked in a way that allowed you to really do your job better.” However, he clarified, “But… they spent years and years developing it.”

It seems that the big fight in health care, in IT, in primary care, almost everywhere, is for time to make good stuff and to make stuff good. We’re fighting that fight, and here to assist any doctors who want time to practice medicine again. And we’re working on digital software that succeeds by MAKING MEDICINE MORE POSSIBLE, not by rushing to the market to collect Meaningful Use incentives.

Oh the irony, for being rewarded for mediocrity. Ayn Rand must be rolling in her grave.

READ ABOUT DAVID CARR’S SEARCH FOR SATISFACTORY EMR

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 22, 2013

Imagine a World Where Docs Blog, “I LOVE MY EMR!”

Unfortunately, that world is imaginary, for the time being. We’re still in our beta launch of Atlas.md EMR, although we’ve already rolled out some helpful updates. For everyone who has signed up for our EMR, here’s what’s available in the newest version of the app.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

October 21, 2013

The Direct Care Doctor Will See You Now

Thanks to @jsgoldmd20 who linked us to a relevant Huff Post story. Ann Brenoff’s “The Doctor Will See You … When Her Boss Says She Can” documents her experience with an overly commodified fee-for-service doctor. It’s not the same old story, of long waiting rooms, harried visits, obscene fees, and dodgy insurance claims… Well, it does have the long waiting room, but for a different reason: Brenoff’s doctor refuses to spend less than 30 minutes with her patients, even when the company she works for demands she book appointments every 10-15 minutes.

The problem, though, is that patients back up in the waiting room. Even when her appointments are booked four weeks in advance, Ann Brenoff is forced to wait over an hour to see her doctor. Recently she got fed up and tried to take her business elsewhere. Her time was too valuable. She couldn’t be made to wait.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

October 20, 2013

Even The New York Times Is Suggesting Catastrophic Insurance Plans

In his new New York Times healthcare piece, “Driving a New Bargain on Health Care,” Tyler Cowen spells out the hard truth of Obamacare failings. Based on his prognosis, a lack of states extending Medicaid coverage will leave millions uninsured. This isn’t something that should excite anyone. However, it’s leading to wake up calls from top journalists. In his assessment Cowen offers a reaction to this shortcoming:

“At the same time, I’d recommend narrowing the scope of required insurance to focus on catastrophic expenses. If insurance picks up too many small expenses, it encourages abuse and overuse of scarce resources.”

As you know, we’ve been suggesting this for years now. When we as a nation can’t provide care for our own, that’s failing. But when we know something isn’t working (health insurance as health maintenance, for one) and we keep doing it, that’s even worse. So yes, while we’re nowhere near a solution, we’re moving towards a society that recognizes one thing: coverage is not care. It’s a point worth mentioning, because to many people, the idea that EVERYONE is insured sounds like utopia. For now, we’ll be the squeaky wheel reminding you that this isn’t really the case.

READ THE FULL NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE HERE

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 20, 2013

WATCH: Dr. Lee Gross Explains His Direct Care Success In Florida

Check out this YouTube video of Dr. Lee Gross, MD, a family physician practicing in Florida. He presents Epiphany Health, his direct primary care plan, to medical students attending the AMSA national conference on October 12, 2013 at Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine. His talk was sponsored by the Benjamin Rush Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the doctor-patient relationship and preserving freedom of choice in medicine.

Just a heads up, it’s a long video, clocking in around 35 minutes. To help you out, we highlighted a few key segments.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

October 18, 2013

A Third Of Med Students Aren’t Using EMR… Wait, Is That A Bad Thing?

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.

READ MORE ABOUT EMR USAGE IN MED SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 18, 2013

Michigan’s Reaction To Obamacare? Direct Primary Care.

We mentioned a while back that Michigan took precautionary measures in light of Obamacare. You can read “The Return of Direct Primary Care” on Sen. Patrick Colbeck’s personal website. He outlines the state’s legislation, SB 459 and 460, which underscore the key values of direct care. Colbeck also explains why his state is not blindly adopting the Medicaid Expansion component of Obamacare.

He’s landed some powerful punches with his rhetoric. If any of them ring true with you, tweet them to your followers. If there’s one thing we know about politics, the squeaky wheel gets the oil — and if there’s no oil, that’s because the government shut down.

Jokes aside, we’re staunch supporters of Colbeck’s vision of prioritizing direct primary care, reducing insurance dependency, and re-establishing the patient-doctor relationship.

“[Insurance] coverage does not equate to quality care.” – @pjcolbeck [CLICK TO TWEET]

“Anytime a budget increases by over $1.5B, it is difficult to make the claim that we are ‘saving money’.” – @pjcolbeck [CLICK TO TWEET]

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Posted by: AtlasMD

October 17, 2013

Atlas.md EMR — Tutorial Video — Dashboard

Drs. Josh and Doug show off the Atlas.md dashboard. where you can access all of the app features. The modules are customizable so you can quickly access the features that are most important to your practice.

VIEW NEXT ATLAS.MD EMR TUTORIAL VIDEO > CLINIC FEATURES / SIDEBAR

Have more questions about Atlas.md? Send them to hello[at]atlas.md …

Want to try Atlas.md EMR? Sign up for free at Atlas.md/signup.

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 17, 2013

Obamacare? Let CNBC Explain…

President Barack Obama has passed his landmark healthcare reform law. It’s referred to by several names—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or just the Affordable Care Act—but even the president uses the critic’s name: Obamacare.

Sure, the name is simple. But this is a complicated law. It wants to tackle two problems: first, it seeks to provide affordable health insurance to just about every American, and second, it wants to slow down the rate of inflation of healthcare costs, which account for nearly one-fifth of America’s economy (you saw John Green’s brilliant video, right?).

Okay, insurance for everyone sounds nice. We’re not going to argue with that sentiment, although the methodology might backfire. However, this second point sounds ludicrous.

“Add red tape to curb American healthcare costs? That’s like pouring gasoline on a fire because it’s liquid.” – @AtlasMD [CLICK TO TWEET]

Oh, and “the ACA will cost the government $1.36 trillion to implement over the next decade, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office,” says CNBC. Excellent. That’s just another tab that’s going to have to be picked up by someone, most likely someone who works and pays taxes.

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