Last year, the Dermatology EMR/ EHR landscape was changing so rapidly that clinicians were having trouble keeping up with the regularly adjusted guidelines for meaningful use. By early 2011, when the incentive-qualifying period finally got underway, there was still a lot of uncertainty regarding respective subvention programs, and many physicians realized they had to fight over very limited funds. However, EHR programs are expected to grow and improve in the coming months, when they will really begin to show their benefits.
• Addressing New Issues in E-Prescribing
With the broad scale adoption of Dermatology EHR/ EMR software, the writing and recording of prescriptions will change significantly. Most Dermatology EHR software will keep evidence of electronically issued prescriptions, the only kind of prescriptions included in the 40 percent required to qualify for incentives. That means certain government incentive programs will not allow you to both prescribe electronically and print copies for patients, since printing or faxing prescriptions are not included in the bottom line number of e-prescriptions – even though these practices both involve electronic communication.
Some dermatologists are expected to have serious trouble meeting a minimum of 40 percent of all prescriptions handled electronically. Several years from now, when pharmacies, practices and hospitals will enjoy better access to computer and Dermatology EHR software, meeting the imposed e-prescribing standard may be much easier.
At present, though, this is an area of confusion and frustration, particularly since many patients prefer buying their medication with printed prescriptions. In light of that, depending on your current system, it is crucial to ensure that you meet the minimum requirement and figure out viable ways for implementing e-prescribing in your office. Moreover, if you haven’t already acquired a Dermatology EHR software system, check that the vendor you select offers features that will help keep track of your number, including percentages of e-prescriptions.
• Additional Angles of EHR Implementation
While e-prescribing is likely to become a key concern for most dermatologists preoccupied with achieving meaningful use, other angles of EHR implementation are also worth considering:
- Gather additional demographic information. If you plan to qualify for government incentives, you will need to pay utmost importance to three pieces of information: the patient’s language, race/ ethnicity, and smoking status, if the patient is over the age of 13.
- Maintain a Detailed List with Active Problems. The importance of this dimension will depend on the system you use. Even so, certain programs may not automatically label every diagnosis as a “problem”. The guidelines require that a problem list be maintained, so the software you use should allow you to achieve this easily.
- Fill in a Summary for Each Patient. The current guidelines also specify that a patient summary must be available if the patient wishes to view it. Although most Dermatology EMR/ EHR Software Solutions provide some sort of patient portal, it must be activated in order for patients to have access to their summaries, in which case you will most likely need to implement a username and password-based login system.