Joseph Rugg's Health Law Blog

On Tuesday, the AMA issued a press release “AMA Calls for Design Overhaul of Electronic Health Records to Improve Usability” about its landmark study with the Rand Corporation, “confirming that discontent with electronic health records … is taking a significant toll on physicians.”  Steven J. Stack, president-elect of the AMA was quoted extensively in the release.

One has to wonder whether Steven “Rip Van Winkle” Stack has been sleeping for the past 5 years or was just off visiting relatives on a distant planet.  Same for the Rand Corporation.  One also has to wonder how much the study cost.  One can sure, however, that if the government had done the study, it would have been a clear contender for a Golden Fleece Award.

Physicians in this country have been abandoned and left alone to deal with the thousands of software charlatans selling inadequate EHR products.   Many physicians are on their second EHR system, and some are still looking for something that works.

EHRs and the data that they can produce are critical in dealing with questions of population health and focusing on prevention rather than procedures, all of which will promote more cost-effective health care.

Hopefully, now that the AMA in on task, something useful can be derived from the desolate software environment.