Due in part to the story of a doctor named Lloyd Fisher and one of his child patients, Massachusetts legislators are looking to send money from new casino legislation into programs that would boost the usage of electronic medical records in the state. The Associated Press reports that 23 percent of all licensing fees put forth under a new bill passed by both the Massachusetts House and Senate would go help transitioning the state's medical facilities to the new records keeping system.
Past research indicates that hospitals that switch to EMR software are able to find more errors that in the past could have lead to serious repercussions, and Fisher's story is an example of these advantages in action.
According to a report by the news source, Fisher was using the new records keeping system while treating a 9-year-old patient. While the boy's written medical record suggested he had received two important immunizations, by checking with the EMR software, Fisher was able to determine that one shot had been administered before the patient was 1 year old.
As a result, Fisher was able to determine that the boy wasn't getting the benefits of this shot.
"Without this alert, we would have never noticed this," Fisher said. "Because the alert showed up, we were able to contact his family, the patient came in, and now he is fully protected."
Doctors in other states, however, may need to look to independent companies to help them facilitate their transition process. By working with an experienced provider that can connect them with reliable Practice Choice or Lytec software, doctors with small medical facilities or private practices can ensure that they are able to secure training, installation and other vital tools to help them manage this process.