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EMRs Help Keep Patients Moving

Hayward Zwerling, MD, FACP

March 2003
Practice Management

In December 2001, the nurse who had been working in my office for the previous five years had to quit abruptly in order to tend to a medical emergency in her family. Although we immediately began advertising for a nurse to replace her, it took six weeks to fill the position. During that time, we had to redefine the processes in our small office.
While the experience was one that we do not want to repeat, we nonetheless learned some important lessons that might be instructive for other physicians trying to meet the increasing demands imposed on physicians today. One significant lesson was that if we had not previously invested heavily in computers, we would not have been able to continue seeing the same number of patients as we normally do.
I work as a solo practitioner in internal medicine, and I have a consultative practice in endocrinology. My staff consists of a secretary, a nurse, and a nurse practitioner.
Information Solutions
On a typical day, we see 25 to 30 patients. Some visits are simple and quick (such as those involving patients with urinary tract infections), but other visits are more prolonged and complicated (such as those involving patients who have poorly controlled diabetes and other medical problems).
Relying heavily on computer-assisted technology, we try to run a paperless office by using electronic medical records software. We use this technology to file lab reports and dictate progress notes and radiology results. We also use a computer-operated telephone answering machine and have a Web site (at www.drzwerling.com).
To accommodate our normal patient load while we were without a nurse, we had to minimize the amount of time spent interacting with patients. This was a choice we did not want to ....

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