Most physicians would probably agree that the American health care system is vastly inefficient, and would benefit from digital technology. But "heal thyself" can be a task of Biblical proportions for medical practices already burdened by increased patient load, declining income and runaway reporting costs.

As president of sales for Professional Data Systems, a White Plains IT consulting firm, Jack Mortell has helped bring many area medical practices into the computer age. However, his diagnosis and prescription are almost never the same.

Congress has created numerous financial incentives for medical technology. The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009 (ARRA) offers $19 billion in stimulus payments to physicians who adopt Electronic medical records (EMR), along with future penalties for those who do not. These incentives come with proposed reporting requirements that technological improvements be "pre-certified" and "meaningful." The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) offers incentive payments to doctors which follow prescribed reporting practices. For many physicians, this option is a challenge to their traditional business culture, professional independence, administrative competence, and technical expertise.

Although many physicians are not yet ready to make the jump into EMR, Jack proposed a number of baby steps that could help bridge the divide. These include e-mail, medical Websites, automated faxing, e-prescribing and reminder calls, practice management and scheduling software, online back-up, and digital diagnostic image and patient records scanning.

Jack's authoritative and interesting presentation was enthusiastically received by a small DACS audience at the Danbury Hospital auditorium, who responded with many thoughtful questions. It is hoped that some of our members will carry the information to their own physicians, who were unable to attend.

A copy of Jack's presentation is available in PDF format on the DACS Website Downloads page.

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