Many area health providers have already made the switch to electronic records

Health care is one of few industries in America that still relies on paper records. That's changing due in part to a requirement in the 2009 economic stimulus package and last year's health care reform law that will start penalizing practices that don't use electronic records.

Many local medical providers have already made the switch, and both Cape Girardeau hospitals are working on it.

The cost of converting ranges from around $10,000 for an individual physician to $12 million to $15 million for larger health systems, said Diane Smith, director of information systems at Saint Francis Medical Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates up to $27 billion will be spent over 10 years to adopt electronic medical records. Congress set aside $19 billion to assist medical providers with the conversion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Beginning last month, providers who have converted to electronic records could begin applying for federal funding assistance. According to the CDC, the first payments are expected in May.

The law also imposes penalties beginning in 2015 for providers that do not move to electronic records. The first regulations requiring electronic records take effect Oct. 1, 2012.

Both SoutheastHEALTH and Saint Francis Medical Center say converting operations of their size to electronic records is a challenge. Both hospitals are using them already to varying extents. Saint Francis already uses electronic records in its emergency department.

Southeast will be using solely electronic records in its physicians' offices and new Cancer Center by the end of this year, said Jay McGuire, information systems director at SoutheastHEALTH. The hospital will be 100 percent electronic by mid-2013, he said.

"We are already using electronic medical records for the vast majority of patients. Physician order entry and documentation are the last and most complex pieces of the EMR [emergency medical records] that we have yet to complete," McGuire said.

Smith did not provide a specific timeline for Saint Francis' implementation of electronic records but said staff started to convert paper documents into an image format last year.

AWL Family Health Care in Cape Girardeau has been using electronic records since 2008. Family nurse practitioners there say using them improves accuracy, safety and efficiency.

"We don't have to spend time locating a chart. You would not believe how much time that can take," nurse practitioner Dolores McDowell said. "Before, transcription would take one to three weeks before they were able to type it up; now we can look it up instantly."

Previous problems with reading a physician's handwriting are no longer a concern when using electronic records, and McDowell can send patients' prescriptions to pharmacies electronically.

"Now they can read my writing," McDowell said. "Historically, inability to read a doctor's handwriting has led to most drug errors." The electronic system also helps ensure accurate dosages and avoids drug interactions, she said.

AWL is also able to link its systems with that of other medical specialists, which makes referrals and accessing test results done at other facilities easier.

The electronic records system also makes it easier for AWL to track patient demographics and submit information it is required to turn in to receive government funding as a designated rural health clinic.

Dr. Robert George is still using paper records at his small office on Broadway in Cape Girardeau but said he was considering an electronic system before the new government requirements.

"I think it will be a good thing in the long run," he said. "I think it will be a lot more work than I am used to doing."

McDowell said she isn't a "computer person" but that she found the switch easy to make because the benefits outweighed the challenges of learning a new system.

"We try to strive to keep up with all of the latest recommendation and trends to provide optimal care for our patients," she said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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