OK, listen up because this is really big news for us.

PMW has decided to move to an EMR, as in Electronic Medical Record.  Honestly, we’ve been holding out against this rising trend for quite some time.  Our experiences elsewhere with computerized medical records have not always been positive.  It was not that long ago that I looked down at my simple pen and paper and thought, From my cold dead hand… Pen and paper records are simple and quick and infinitely flexible.  And, as we are doctors of a “certain age”, they are what we all trained with.

However, they can also be bulky, difficult to organize, and impossible to read.  So, a variety of powerful forces in the government and private industry have been moving us all toward EMRs, and it was really just a matter of time.  Partly we were waiting until we found one that seemed well suited to private pediatric practice.  And we think we have found it.

Starting this spring, we will be implementing a new system designed by pediatricians for pediatricians.  This should come with many advantages for our patients.  Records that are more accurate and easily searchable, for starters.  Better systems for tracking due immunizations and routine screenings. Fewer paper prescriptions should mean less waiting at the pharmacy.  Eventually we hope to allow people access to some things, like registration and school forms, through a secure web portal.

Over the next few months, we will discuss some of the details of this implementation and what it means for our patients.  I expect there will be some delays as we work through the process, so hopefully you will all bear with us.  We are very excited, and a little bit nervous, about these developments, but we think the time is right to bring PMW into the 21st century and, when we are done, we think you will agree too!