The well-written guest blog which follows is by Richard Hom, Public Policy Consultant, Richard Hom Consulting. http://grandrounds4ods.com. You can also find him on Twitter at grandrounds4ods. Thanks Richard for contributing.
Medical providers across the country are grappling with many medical care issues. Of the many, one that has received much attention, thought and talk has been computerized electronic medical records (EMR). Although not a novel idea, EMR use and adoption have regained center stage as economic stimulus funding from the Federal Government has been dangled as an added incentive.
The monetary incentive, though, has not overcome the resistance and hesitation that providers have toward EMRs. More urgent problems that preclude EMR adoption dwindling reimbursement, rising malpractice premiums and an array of private and public regulatory issues that smother provider authority. In this atmosphere of medical practice the promise of the benefits of EMR adoption has not outweighed the attention gained by the aforementioned issues.
If EMR adoption is to spread and embraced by the medical community, more tangible and direct benefits may be needed. For example, with EMR use, physician accountability is enhanced by legible and available documentation of patient care. Tying EMR use to malpractice premiums would be an attractive carrot, just as a non-smoker might benefit with health or automobile insurance.
Likewise, EMR use should benefit a physician’s patients by easing information sharing. Therefore, an initiative to lessen the burden of eligibility of benefits or referrals to specialists would be welcomed.
Finally, electronic presentation of Explanation of Medical Benefit forms (EOMBs), rejections and electronic resubmission should further invite greater EMR participation. In this one area alone, the blizzard of paper correspondence surrounding reimbursement is a significant problem area that may be lessened with EMRs and practice management software.
In summary, a cash incentive may attract medical providers, but only those providers who already may have successful office workflow processes and may require only a cash incentive. For the remaining, though, relief from the paper flow, claims submission,and malpractice premiums may be the carrot that will move more providers to EMR adoption.
Pale Rhino Consulting 
Richard you are right on about tangibililty. The difficulty is in my experience that what is tangible also has to be second nature and just part of practice. I am engaging a practice of research to put imagination into health that begins with sparking the imagination of people who do not have the time to think about cloud computing and social media and EMR to write up a list of how they would like their day to change in the practice of medicine from the view in which they serve and the world they live in during the ordinary day.
I think it is about time that technologists and government officials begin to listen to the communities of people who have the intention to provide good quality care that can provide conditions that sustain a patients quality of life from cradle to death.
I have been watching Paul grapple for days now in thinking through how he can make a difference. The problem is too many are working in their silos and tweeting and linking and posting and we are not uniting through questions and building a data base of responses that can weave our conversations into actions that create something magnificent and empower the change that everyone says we want from all views that include how in health people earn a living to how we find the best treatment available for a specific disease and patient need.
Thank you for your post.
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