Resources & Tools for EMR Usage

As a first step, your practice may want to conduct two self-assessments: Organizational Readiness to Use an EMR as a QI Tool, and EMR Functionality and Usage.

Idaho and Washington practices are also welcome to participate in our bi-monthly conference series.

We will regularly post new resources and lessons learned from our current initiatives. Check back frequently! 

For more information about selecting and implementing an EMR, please see the related resources on the DOQ-IT University or QualityNet websites.

Idaho and Washington practices may also request a password to visit our protected webpage, which includes resources from Outlook Associates as well as our Centricity and NextGen users groups. Log in to the password-protected webpage.

E-Prescribing
Medicare’s E-Prescribing Incentive Program
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) defines eligibility criteria for professionals eligible to receive incentive payments for e-prescribing. To learn more about this program, download Medicare’s Practical Guide to the E-Prescribing Incentive Program or see the related section of the CMS website.

National E-Prescribing Conference
Recordings of the 10/16/08 conference accessible below
Sessions included Medicare's e-prescribing incentive payment program; strategies and tools for integrating e-prescribing with current health care delivery practices; and privacy, security, and risk management implications.

The Massachusetts Medical Society and the American Pharmacists Association will provide continuing education for selected presentations from the conference through an online education portal. Available credits are a maximum of 22.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, and Continuing Education for pharmacists (up to 13.25 hours or 1.325 CEUs).

Local Success Stories
Read about the successes Idaho and Washington practices have had in selecting, implementing, and using EMRs.

Strong commitment and solid prep work put PHMG on the fast track to EHRs
The management team at Primary Health Medical Group (PHMG), a multi-specialty medical group with 13 clinics in Idaho’s Treasure Valley, decided to make the transition to electronic health records (EHRs) a priority for 2007. Before the year was out, they had identified a core team, chosen a vendor, trained staff, and successfully launched the EHR system in all 13 clinics.
Read the full article, excerpted from the Winter 2007 Physician Office Advance.

Early success for Idaho e-prescribing pilot project
In July 2006, the Idaho Physicians Network (which represents about 2,100 doctors across the state) and Primary Health, Inc. (a health insurance company based in Boise) embarked on a pilot program which introduced e-prescribing to a handful of its member providers.
Read the full article, excerpted from the Fall 2006 Physician Office Advance.

Registry use prompts this practice to investigate EMRs
When his team from Vancouver’s Family Wellness Center participated in the 2004-2005 Washington State Collaborative, Dr. Tom Dyehouse came away with some insights that have dramatically affected the practice. "In the Collaborative, they said that the way the healthcare system is set up makes it hard to deliver proper care. And I realized they’re right," Dyehouse explained.
Read the full article, excerpted from the Summer 2006 Physician Office Advance.

Electronic health records used to improve patient care
One of the key reasons to implement electronic health records (EHRs) is to improve patient care. Sound Family Medicine (SFM) of Puyallup, Washington recently used their EHRs to do just that and received recognition for their efforts from GE Healthcare. In January, SFM was presented The Excellence Award in Quality Improvement for 2005 for using GE’s Centricity Digital Health Record System to improve diastolic blood pressure control in hypertensive patients.
Read the full article, excerpted from the Spring 2006 Physician Office Advance.

Electronic medical records generate excitement in Kingston
When Donald Stevens, MD, was considering going into private practice, he quickly realized that in order to be financially viable, solo practitioners must find efficiencies in data management. “I compared the costs of paper against EMRs [electronic medical records] and realized that electronic was the way to go,” he explained. “I estimated that it would take about a year for the EMR to pay for itself. And it did.”
Read the full article, excerpted from the Winter 2005 Physician Office Advance.