“Electronic medical records are not yet what they need to be and are causing damage to the quality of resident training, office practice, physician burnout and the possibility of having a private practice. Costs of this project include more staff, fewer patients, and extensive physical investments.” Bill Chesnut. MD
EHR requirements raising operating costs for independent practices
Modern Healthcare (9/25, Subscription Publication) reports that independent practices “acquired by hospitals are seeing operating costs spike as they try to keep up with the federal electronic health-record requirements, according to a report released Thursday by the Medical Group Management Association.” Multispecialty physician practices spent an average of $20,693 per full-time-equivalent physician last year, up 12 percent from 2013 and 34 percent from 2010. Nonetheless, the “report’s opinion is that it’s money well spent if any of it is updating technology.” Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, CEO of MGMA, said in a statement, “The increased use of technology can improve the quality of patient care by improving records management, optimizing workflow and meeting HIPAA compliancy requirements.”
AMA newsletter September, 2015.