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What to look for in an EMR
Today, EMR systems are finally living up to the promise of ease-of-use and increasingly can run on small devices and over wireless networks—two areas that have traditionally impeded physician adoption of the systems. However, buyer beware: Much-needed consolidation hasn’t yet occurred in the EMR vendor space. There are scores of small, unproven EMR vendors dying to get your business. Don't consider them, however, if they only have a few clients. Go with a company that you believe is going to be around for a while.
As far as EMR features and functions are concerned, think easy, fast, portable, and flexible. Some things to look for in an EMR system include:
| • | Quick searching and navigating |
| • | Quick links to the Internet |
| • | Intuitive user interface requiring minimal training |
| • | Automatic alerts and reminders (for example, for drug interactions or test scheduling) |
| • | Clinical dashboards that consolidate information for the provider, including messages, test results, and patient records |
| • | Template editor tools to help physicians easily create their own progress notes templates |
| • | Outcomes reporting |
| • | Clinical decision-support tools and information |
| • | Support for multiple data input modalities, such as Tablet PCs, keyboard, digital ink, and voice |
| • | Support for open standards, such as Extensible Markup Language (XML), to support interoperability |
| • | Mobile and wireless technologies to enable integration with Tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and phones |
| • | Electronic prescription support I got it from this link |
