Go into most doctor’s office and there are stacks of floppy folders decorating the receptionist’s area. It’s worked well enough for many years, but the classic medical chart may finally be phased out, replaced by electronic medical records (EMRs).
There are some holdups—the start-up expense, IT glitches, even the destruction of the patient/doctor relationship.
But benefits outweigh costs. Holding onto the possibility of tech problems is unwise, the world is a tech driven place—online banking, internet business transactions, e-mails are our reality, and an overwhelming convenience.
And yes, doctors will have to evolve with the system, build on its benefits and stomp out possible faults, like the loss of connection with the population they’ve sworn to serve. Success is dependent on the avoidance of complacency—EMRs will be what the doctors and their  patients make them.
If done right, the transition though could favor increased transparency. Using programs like Google Health patient’s can send records to selected doctors and have a better idea what’s going on with their own treatment. I saw my medical record for the first time this week and found inaccuracies strewn throughout, I’m betting mine aren’t unique.
The idea of the physician e-consult should not evoke fear, as one doctor notes is this Los Angeles Times essay it can save time, money and offer greater schedule flexibility to both patient and physician. Gone will be the day of trekking all the way to the doctor’s office for that annoying(but not serious) rash, just send him or her an e-mail with an attached picture, advice can be sent back in moments. The quality of  dialogue between physicians will be boosted, with the chart spread across the monitor those past MRI or lab results will have a harder time slipping through the cracks. Initial figures are difficult to compute, but the transition should lower in-office-costs for physicians. Less time and money will be poured into filing away charts and hunting down those test results gone missing. With less people to pay and less administrative overhead, doctors can spend more time working to keep the patient healthy and less time figuring out how to meet their quota.

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