Welcome to EMR and HIPAA

I want to thank Selena Chavis for writing a good article on EMR consulting in For the Record Magazine. It was interesting to see how she would integrate the things I told her into an article. The other gentleman in the article made some good points. Here’s one interesting point:

Bryson acknowledges that he has witnessed a reluctance on the part of physicians to pay for outside consulting services. “Everything [in the EMR process] is so cost-prohibitive right now. I hear physicians say, ‘I don’t really want to pay these guys $10,000 to do this—I’ll do it myself,’” he says, adding a warning that without knowledge of the inner workings of the technology field, expensive errors can be made. “For them to make the right decision is paramount. There are monies to be saved by having professionals in your corner.” Bryson adds that the most significant errors in the implementation process often come from not investing the right amount of money in infrastructure and training.

I don’t necessarily agree that everything is so cost-prohibitive right now. I think that servers and other hardware are dirt cheap. EMR vendors are creating innovative pricing plans. Not to mention competition is really driving the prices down. However, I definitely agree that it is important for a consultant to show a doctor a clear set of reasons why having a consultant will pay for itself.