Family medicine
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The management of test results in primary care: does an electronic medical record make a difference?
It is unknown whether an electronic medical record (EMR) improves the management of test results in primary care offices. ⋯ There was greater documentation of results managed by an EMR, but all offices fall short in notifying patients and in documenting interpretation and follow-up of abnormal test results.
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With limited work hours, efficient rounding and effective hand-offs have become essential. We created a completely electronic medical record (EMR)-generated rounding report for use during pre-rounding, team rounds, and sign-out/hand-offs. We hypothesized that this would reduce workloads. ⋯ Utilization of well-designed, EMR-generated reports for the use of patient transfer, sign-out, and rounding should become more commonplace considering the improved efficiency, satisfaction, and potential for improved patient care.
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Electronic prescribing is one of the components of the Patient-centered Medical Home and is one of the "meaningful use" criteria to qualify electronic medical records for financial incentives. While there are many potential benefits of electronic prescribing, documentation of these is currently sparse. The purpose of this study was to measure practice improvement as a result of the implementation of electronic prescribing. ⋯ Electronic prescribing was positively received by patients and providers and resulted in a reduction in total after-hours calls, despite a paradoxical increase in medication-related calls. Further study is warranted to document other evidence-based outcomes of electronic prescribing.