Is Your MD Ready for the Electronic Health Record?

The Huffington Post—March 2, 2011   

Helene Pavlov, M.D., FACR, Radiologist-in-Chief at Hospital for Special Surgery

I recently read an article from Reuters about a Stanford University study that reported that electronic health records did little to improve the quality of patient care, even when there was decision support software that gives doctors tips on how best to treat specific conditions. This information should not be that surprising, email communication does not replace verbal collaboration.

In the practice of radiology, technology is paramount in ensuring that radiologists have the tools they need to acquire and view images and provide the optimal conditions for interpretation and provide an accurate diagnosis to the referring physicians who are caring for the patient. Our team of musculoskeletal radiologists, technologists and staff at Hospital For Special Surgery are constantly improving how procedures and technologies can best provide the imaging services and care we provide to our patients and the diagnoses we deliver to our physician colleagues. These technological improvements are not only applicable to how images are acquired and viewed but also apply to front office technological advances that makes it easier for referring physicians to order imaging studies and for patients to schedule appointments. The goal of new technologies is to help with patient throughput, provide overall higher efficiency, and improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.

So, although technology is not going to solve all the healthcare issues, it does play an important role and should not be dismissed or ignored.

Read the full blogpost at huffingtonpost.com.