As we noted above, when patients feel more ownership of their health care, they perceive they are being better cared for, and fewer important details get overlooked. Abnormal lab values that may slip by a physician in the deluge of the daily mail are easily caught by a patient who is anxiously anticipating them.
But what about patients who will trouble their doctor over less than concerning results? While the cost might be a panicked phone call from someone with a slightly elevated BUN or low MCH, the reward could be a providential request to reevaluate the results of a CT scan showing a mass the primary care physician somehow missed.
We are hopeful that in the end, EHR technology will fulfill its touted promises, and that the downpour of new challenges will actually make the landscape more fertile to the growth of better patient care.
Dr. Skolnik is associate director of the family medicine residency program at Abington (Pa.) Memorial Hospital and professor of family and community medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia. He is also editor in chief of Redi-Reference, a software company that creates medical handheld references. Dr. Notte practices family medicine and health care informatics for Abington Memorial Hospital. They are partners in EHR Practice Consultants, helping practices move to EHR systems. Contact them at info@ehrpc.com.