Computerized patient records benefit physician offices

Healthcare Financial Management, Sept, 1997 by Alan Bingham

Exhibit 1 shows the potential financial benefits that could be realized over five years by implementing a computerized patient record system.

Conclusion

Implementation experience has shown that simply computerizing a manual system "as is" will not optimize the system's efficiency and may prevent adequate payback from being realized. Planning and cost justification of a computerized system should expand beyond the technology itself to include organizational change and process reengineering. A systemwide approach to a computerized patient record system can bring direct financial benefits from productivity gains and administrative reorganization.

Some benefits are immediately identifiable as cost reductions and quality improvements. For example, productivity gains often translate into quality gains, such as when instant updates of a patient's status can result in an immediate adjustment to his or her medication doses.

[TABULAR DATA FOR EXHIBIT 1 OMITTED]

Other benefits may be more difficult to categorize and also depend on the choices physicians make. Time saved through the use of a computerized patient record system could be used to increase revenue (seeing more patients), improve quality of care (spending more time with each patient), and gain personal benefits (spending less time in the office). Overall, the primary benefit of a computerized patient record system - the ability to deliver the right information into the right hands at the right time - can often justify system implementation.

a. American Medical Association, Medical Records Institute.

b. Unpublished Clinical NetwoRx research.

c. Incremental overhead costs, such as benefits and social security contributions, are not included.

d. Average cost of a patient visit at the model clinic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan Bingham is director of marketing, Clinical NetwoRx, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts.