As a medical professional, what are the drawbacks to an Electronic Medical Records system?
Wiele: Administrators need to know that when you implement an EMR, you’ll need extra staff. In the first month, one should expect their physicians and nurses to be 30 percent less efficient. In the second month, administrators should expect a 20 percent drop in efficiency. And then, over the long term, there will be about a 10 percent drop in efficiency, compared to paper record keeping. After using it for the last three years, I know I am less efficient than I would have been with the best combination of paper and dictation. Consulting: Why is it less efficient? Wiele: The order entry stage takes longer than any good paper process. EMRs are touted as having fewer errors in this stage, but I don’t know if that’s really true. It’s easy to click on things that aren’t always correct. It’s probably a little safer, but not as safe as everyone says it is. And it definitively takes longer, Consulting: Would it make sense to keep the best of the paper process and enhance it with an EMR? Wiele:
