So I Have an EMR System. Now What?

Technology has profoundly transformed the practice of medicine with new diagnostic tools and treatment options that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago. And yet, for all the technology-powered progress made on the direct patient care front, the industry lags behind many other sectors in adopting digital data management tools that can have an enormously positive effect on outcomes and practice profitability.

Forward-thinking healthcare systems, software engineers, medical practices and government agencies have tried to change that. Over the past several years, the US government, a major player on the national healthcare scene via Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration, has provided incentives to encourage healthcare practitioners to adopt and use electronic medical records (EMRs).

Motivated by these incentives, many practitioners have taken the first step to qualify for enhanced payments and get a better handle on patient data by purchasing an EMR system. They use it to record patient information. But most have not yet tapped the full potential of digital data and its power to become a force-multiplier by connecting practitioners with fellow healthcare professionals and patient information nationwide...