the
in box a variety of questions. …her back was to me during the time she asked these questions. When she began the physical examination, it was interspersed with visits to the terminal. … Not only did I feel the appointment was rushed (a separate issue), but the quality of the visit was diminished by the time my physician had spent at the terminal, turned away from me. After this experience, I wondered about whether providers are receiving the EHR training needed to properly integrate this technology into their practice. …When I left my physician, I was not thinking about the short wait time or how quickly I was able to schedule the appointment. I was feeling I had been neither seen nor heard by my doctor and the feeling was negative. Tariq Dastagir says: Very important point. In my practice I stand or sit on a stool facing the patient with my computer on my righthand side. I do minimal data entry in the computer during our visit, but use it to review charts, answer the patient’s questions, and share medical information with them on the screen. Sometimes I use it to show them images online which are relevant to their condition. John Ludlow writes: Healthcare is more of a service than a commodity but because of increasing overhead and decreasing reimbursements we’ll do whatever we can to push patients through our offices quickly while satisfying all of the “requirements” mandated by CMS and the insurance companies. It’s hard to develop relationships with patients when we’re worried about satisfying the payer and avoiding things like fraud and malpractice. Plus, with the impending change in reimbursement to ACOs (all physicians will be salaried employees) there will be even less urgency to “serve” the patient. Maybe medicine is a commodity. Do you worry that your EHR pulls your attention away from the patient? Tell us what you think; join the conversation at http://bit. ly/balance-patient-interaction. 6
| Physicians Practice | April 2012
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The following institutions sponsor Physicians Practice in their geographic regions. Physicians Practice is mailed to practicing physicians within these geographic regions.
Advocate BroMenn Medical Center www.bromenn.org 309 454 1400
All Children’s Hospital www.allkids.org 727 898 7451
Bronson Battle Creek www.bronson battlecreek.com 245 966 8000
Central Maine Medical Center www.cmmc.org 207 795 0111
Christiana Care Health System www.christianacare.org 302 733 5339
Crozer-Keystone Health System www.crozer.org 800 CK HEALTH (254 3258)
Desert Regional Medical Center www.desertmedctr.com 760 323 6511
ETMC Regional Healthcare System www.etmc.org 800 648 8141
Hoag Hospital www.hoaghospital.org 949 764 HOAG (4624)
Holy Cross Hospital www.holy-cross.com 954 351 7844
Indiana University Health Physicians iuhealth.org/physicians 800 622 4989
Lancaster General Health www.Lancaster GeneralHealth.org 717 544 5511
Loma Linda University Health System www.lomalindahealth.org 877 LLUMC 4U (558 6248)
Maimonides Medical Center www.maimonidesmed.org 718 283 8227
Marshfield Clinic www.marshfieldclinic.org 877 647 3337
St. Francis Health Center www.stfrancistopeka.org 785 295 8000
St. John’s Hospital www.st-johns.org 217 544 6464
St. Luke’s Hospital www.stlukescr.org 319 369 7211
SUNY Upstate Medical University www.upstate.edu 800 544 1605
Swedish Medical Center www.swedish.org 800 SWEDISH (793 3474)
UNC Hospitals and the UNC School of Medicine at Chapel Hill www.unchealthcare.org 800 862 6264
Munson Healthcare www.munsonhealthcare.org 800 468 6766
University of Virginia Health System www.uvaphysiciandirect.com 800 552 3723
Providence Health & Services www.providence.org/oregon 503 574 7500
Wesley Medical Center www.wesleymc.com 316 962 2000
Saint Francis Medical Center www.sfmc.net 573 331 5877
Wolfson Children’s Hospital www.wolfsonchildrens.org 904 202 8000 www.physicianspractice.com
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