Introduction
Electronic medical records (EMRs) are computerized recording systems designed by health-care organizations for delivering information to patients and medical professionals when needed. The service has been in existence in the United States for more than 30 years but its usage has been limited to few medical professionals particularly the office-based health-care providers. There are many brands of EMRs such as CureMD, Praxis and Misys among others.
CureMD is a web-based EMR system certified by CCHIT for delivery of information on care management records and medical evidence to patients and medical professionals when required. The system is comprised of integrated applications such as modules and sub-modules linked directly to secluded offices, laboratories, medical machines and devices, and pharmacies to ensure provision of instantaneous and inclusive accessibility to the required information at the right time (CureMD Corporation, 2010). The system, which is accessed through the internet, allows the physicians and other authorized medical personnel to access patient records and hospital practices outside their offices. On the other hand, Praxis electronic medical records system utilizes Concept-Processor software that creates a medical information database for the medical professional for each individual case encountered.
The Concept Processor is referred to as a neural network capable of automatic documentation of new patient information and records by salvaging identical content that may have been encountered earlier (Praxis, 2010). The software displays the results through a bell-shaped curve and for each new case encountered by a physician, the processor can display one out of three outcomes. The new case can be identical to a previously encountered one or it may be similar but not identical to the past case. Moreover, the new case may be very different from any of the medical cases encountered by the physician (Praxis, 2010). The world-renowned software company that provides software services to most health-care organizations and financial services developed the Misys EMR software. The software allows health-care organizations to provide patient care services such as laboratory orders, chart notes, transcriptions and prescriptions through an automated system (DataFuzion, 2004). The key features of the system include templates, tools and links, which allow an authorized user to access additional information by a single click. This research paper seeks to compare the three brands of electronic medical records discussed above in the context of their importance to health-care organizations.
Comparison of CureMD, Praxis, and Misys Electronic Medical Records
The three EMRs share similar features that enable the medical organizations to maintain continuous care management records for all cases encountered. The features of CureMD include history tools, electronic prescription, computerized physician orders, workflow editor, voice recognition, and business process designer among others. These features enable medical professionals or any authorized personnel to access numerous tasks through a single centralized computer (CureMD Corporation, 2010). On the other hand, Praxis combines all these features in a single software application, the Concept Processor, which also enable physicians to record or access medical records easily. The most notable feature incorporated in the Concept Processor is the Speech recognition tool similar to CureMD’s voice recognition application. This feature can convert the patients’ voice into text or specific hot keys that enable the physician to access patient specific records easily (Praxis, 2010). Misys consists of features such as patient summary data, chart notes, document imaging, prescription and reporting tools, which are similar to those observed in CureMD and Praxis. These features also allow the physician to access records and tasks by a single click (DataFuzion, 2004).
These EMRs allow for flexibility and efficiency in service delivery. The internet linked CureMD system achieves efficiency of interlinked offices since it can allow for task scheduling in the whole organization through E-mails and reminders. On the other hand, the Concept Processor in Praxis EMR achieves efficiency through helping the physician with the complex documentation process. In Misys, a physician can efficiently access pending task through an electronic task list. This appears in form of messages, appointment windows, charts and test results displayed on a single screen. The work of the user is to click on tabs in order to move from one task to another. The document-imaging feature in CureMD and Misys, which is equivalent to the charting feature of Praxis, allows the physician to electronically import patient records from elsewhere and store them in a single computer. When required, these records can be retrieved easily and quickly for reference. This process increases the efficiency of EMRs in service delivery.
Finally, the EMRs consist of features that enable quick and efficient financial management. The Electronic Billing and Audit Trail & Access Control system integrated modules in CureMD allow for authorized personnel in a medical organization to manage the financial obligations of patients efficiently. On the other hand, the Charge Passing feature in Misys allows the organization to collect service charges for the services offered to their patients and in turn passes the information to a centralized information storage system (DataFuzion, 2004).
Conclusion
The paper has outlined three major brands of electronic medical records employed by most medical organizations in the United States. It is indicated that the systems have been in place for more than 30 years although their utilization has been minimal. EMRs consist of special and unique features, which allow physicians to record, store and retrieve patient records quickly and efficiently. Moreover, the systems consist of additional features that enable medical organizations to manage their staff and workflow efficiency. Therefore, it is imperative that the office of Medical Information and Office practice employs the electronic medical records system since it is quick, efficient and it allows for continuity of the care management practice for all patients in an organization.
Reference list
CureMD Corporation. (2010). Electronic medical records – EMR. Web.
Praxis. (2010). How Praxis EMR works: the Praxis Concept Processor solution. Infor Med Medical Information Systems, Inc. Web.
DataFuzion. (2004). DataFuzion offers a total hosted EMR solution for physician practices. DataFuzion, Inc. Web.