An Epic Systems Fluff Piece, Deconstructed — ZDoggMD watches and reacts to a CBS profile on the giant EHR company - ZDoggMD - Feb 27, 2020

[cujoe]

This video podcast is a critique of the recent CBS Sunday Morning profile of the largest provider of digital medical records software, EPIC Systems Corp. It will help you understand the less than perfect transition now in full swing to make all your medical records digital. The promise is great, but the methods being used raise the same issues that we see every day with digital information. It also spotlights the potential negative impacts the digital interface has to the quality of your interactions with your providers, as well as demonstrating the biased nature of much of the mainstream media reporting we get these days.

The video podcast is here:

medpagetoday.com/blogs/zdog...

You can read about ZDoggMD (Zubin Damania, MD) here:

zdoggmd.com/about-z/

As one who dealt with the digital transition in the physical design field via CADD, 3D Modeling, GIS, CivilSoft, desktop publishing, database management, etc., I can fully appreciate what the medical community is dealing with. As is the case with most such systems, the people who create the interfaces that the end user has to use, have little to no idea what is the most intuitive and most efficient one they need. I also had the unfortunate occasion to have a late afternoon appointment with my urologist on the day his office "went live" with their computer records system. He was about 2 hours late for my appointment (i.e., about 6 PM) and I had a conversation with him about the trials and tribulations of moving to digital systems for conventional analog processes. I made the sarcastic comment that, "Based on my own experience, I was of the opinion that computers were going to be our salvation or the nemesis of the entire human race." After what was obviously an exasperating day at the office for him, he replied, " Well, I know one thing for sure, they are going to make me leave the medical profession a lot earlier than I had planned!"

Be sure to read the comments section at the bottom of the MedPageToday page.

Be Well - K9

[NPfisherman]

Solid post K9 Terror,

The EHR/EMR is trouble for most providers...What do you do when they (IT) are fixing the system and it has to be shut down?? Write details on a paper note and enter it later...and try to keep moving...I had hoped that Medical Dragon would be an answer and be compatible with most EMR/EHRs but no...so stuck typing....

Then, we get to the fact that when people enter data/information wrong, it can be cut and pasted into the next note resulting in erroneous information being given regarding the patient and to anyone who has access--MD's, NP's, PA's Nurses, Pharmacists, etc... It happened on my chart over and over at the hospital...crazy...

Lastly, a large number of providers are in their 50's and 60's and sometimes they quit early to be done with the EMR/EHR... This has never been the big benefit to the health system that was described to us...

Have a great weekend...

Fish

[marnieg46]

Unfortunately, as so often happens, Australia is taking a similar route with many hospitals using EPIC resulting in health care professionals experiencing the issues noted in the podcast

blog.scancare.com.au/blog/t...

[NPfisherman in reply to marnieg46]

No matter where one is as a health care provider, the EMR is like a mill stone pulling us down and drowning us... You sign up for a profession in which you want to make a difference for patients and instead the EMR buries those good intentions... the time to enter the notes is horrible.... EMR--the killer of older provider's careers...

Fish

[Hidden in reply to NPfisherman]

Frickin EMR ! 😫