Letters To the Editor

EHR from the trenches

I enjoyed reading your opinion about implementing EHR in the June issue. We are entering Year Three of EHR in my solo optometry practice. We had a very smooth transition. Here are some things we did to make our EHR experience a positive one.

We prepared our paper charts well in advance to going live. By this, I mean we got our patients' charts in good order, and then used ECR Vault and Officemate, to scan our patients' paper charts into their newly created electronic record, which allowed for ease of referring back to the paper chart. One of my staff pulled the charts of patients who were scheduled to see me from Day One of going live. We scanned those charts 1 week at a time, so there was an electronic chart ready for each patient on the day we would see them for their first “electronic” exam.

For a few weeks, we cut back on the number of patients we scheduled once we went live. We scaled back our patient load by about 50% until we really felt comfortable with EHR. Sure, we brought in less income for a while, but we all kept our sanity.

Finally, we decided to keep the appointment book as a paper book. We thought we would use the paper appointment book for a few months, then use electronic scheduling. But, because we are a one-doctor practice with three staff members, we are still very efficient with paper and pencil at the front desk.

So, no kicking and screaming for us. We are happy to be paperless.

Kim B. Even, OD

King of Prussia, PA