Good Evening;
As I write, it is now 2010 and another year has come and gone. People everywhere are making New Year's resolutions (mine always on the eat-less, exercise-more side of things), and professionally, the EMR movement is well on its way. We enter another year facing a lightening-speed pace regarding rules, standards, and legislation all targeting this thing called the Electronic Medical Record. "EMR" is a vast, complicated, far-reaching topic that demands more brain cells and intelligence than one person can ever hope to possess. There is no way to cover everything EMR, no way to bring everyone up to date in a single post - or an entire month, for that matter - so I will use this initial blog to describe the purpose of The Eagle's Nest and what I hope to accomplish by having it.
Over the many years now that I have been in public speaking regarding the EMR, many changes have taken place, yet a constant remains: People are hungry for information about this topic. Medical transcriptionists need the deserved reassurance that their jobs will not go away, physicians look for confirmation that they won't waste their money with this technology, and EMR companies feel the burden of the never-ending certification requirements and customer service that plague their industry. One thing is for sure: Electronic Medical Records are not a one-size-fits-all, single-stop solution to roping in the rising costs of American healthcare. Despite what our EMR sales team would like you to believe, talking-typing/editing as a valid documentation method isn't going away. And, despite what our transcriptionists would like to hang on to, yesterday's transcription methodologies are gone. Probably forever.
And I think this is a good thing.
The purpose of this blog is to provide education and cause for ponder regarding today's healthcare documentation. My passion is always quality, but technology, government rules and regulations, advocacy groups, forward-thinking teams and initiatives, and the like are all topics that deserve our attention, and topics that I will address.
If you have comments or suggestions, please feel free to add to the blog. Professional courtesy demands that we keep things clean, courteous and on topic, and my personal preference is a non-anonymous posting, leaving one's name and perhaps even company or group association. We all learn from each other, and I'm certain this professional blog will be no different. I've not facilitated an EMR Conference yet where I didn't learn something from someone in the audience. And topical dialog is at least cleansing for the soul, if not quite useful and relevant.
Reach high with me in 2010! Learn new skills, reach in-the-know status about a new topic, decide how high you want to fly, and then - like an eagle with wings of great strength yet gentle finesse - soar to new heights toward your goals.
Here's to a great new year for all of us. Hang on for the ride -
/e