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E-medical records refine care and may cut costs

Implementation at Beavercreek Family Medicine should save $100K

Dr. Jeffrey Millard, at Beavercreek Family Medicine, located at 111 Harbert Drive, in Beavercreek, uses computers to store medical records.

Staff photo Ron Alvey Dr. Jeffrey Millard, at Beavercreek Family Medicine, located at 111 Harbert Drive, in Beavercreek, uses computers to store medical records.

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By Ben Sutherly, Staff Writer Updated 11:33 PM Saturday, July 25, 2009

BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek Family Medicine patients can now access their bloodwork results even while traveling on business.

The new online capability, made possible through My Chart, is proving popular, Dr. Jeffrey Millard said. Patients can access their medical history, cancel or schedule appointments, and interact directly with their doctor. My Chart isn’t meant for urgent matters.

“People bank online. They like the convenience of it,” Millard said.

My Chart is one example of how scribbling and paper charts are giving way to typing and computer terminals in examining rooms across the Miami Valley.

Electronic medical recordkeeping is advancing locally on several fronts:

Kettering Health Network said last week it will invest more than $50 million in its new electronic health information system.

The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton expects to go live with electronic medical records Aug. 25 in its inpatient unit, including its emergency department. Its outpatient clinics already have gone live.

“I have described this to our staff as transformational,” said Dr. Tom Murphy, Dayton Children’s vice president of medical affairs. “This is like the stethoscope becoming available.”

Premier Health Partners, which is spending $50 million to implement electronic medical records at its hospitals, recently began linking doctors and patients through My Chart. More than 150 physicians will be using My Chart with patients by year’s end at physician offices and clinics associated with Premier’s Miami Valley and Good Samaritan hospitals and Atrium Medical Center, said Mikki Clancy, Premier’s chief information officer.

Federal stimulus money should significantly increase use of electronic medical records in local physician offices by the end of 2010, said Jon Russell, Kettering Health Network’s chief information officer.

While health-care providers say the primary aim of electronic medical records is to improve patient care, there are potential savings.

Implementation of electronic medical records should save Beavercreek Family Medicine $100,000 annually in transcription costs, Millard said. Samaritan North Family Physicians at Good Samaritan North Health Center in Englewood saves about $50,000 annually, said one of its doctors, Dr. Walter Reiling III.

Premier, meanwhile, is well on its way to achieving anticipated annual savings of $5 million to $7 million, Clancy said. Those savings are chiefly coming through reducing the cost of transcription and clerical medical records management, and by reducing duplication of tests and use of paper in general.

Millard and Reiling, both family physicians, said electronic medical records don’t save time, but do improve patient care and redefine workflow. Both practices reduced patient volumes while going live with the new systems.

It’s the biggest change Reiling has seen in 20 years of practice.

“It’s changed the way we communicate with our patients,” he said.

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This is not news. We've been using the computer program record system (CPRS) here at the VA for nearly 10 years. The VA pioneered the use of this system and has received numerous recognition awards for it. Yet the article makes no mention of this fact. Hmmm....

Doc
1:47 PM, 7/27/2009

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Hello.
I just wanted to say that I have been a patient of Dr. Millard's for 12 years and you would be hard pressed to find a better family physician. Even the kids love him!
So if he says this is good, you can believe it! :)

Rebecca Masden
9:41 AM, 7/27/2009

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