Electronic Medical Records - the switch

  Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are supposed to make the physician more productive.  I did my Emergency Medicine residency on one.  But then, that is misleading because each institute that I rotated at had a different system.  Not only that, but the adult Emergency Department at one place used a different EMR than the pediatric Emergency Department at the same place, right across the hall. 
  There are quite a few EMR companies out there, with big names and bigger price tags.  I would like to just touch on a few of the problems and how it plays into my work as a physician.
  First, the learning curve is rather big.  Trying to teach an old doc a new trick is difficult.  Teaching that old doc to use a computer on top of that is also difficult.  At my current work place, we are being trained on an EMR system that will be replaced in less than ten months.  So, all the old docs get to learn TWO systems in less than 10 months.  Welcome to efficiency. 
  Speaking of efficiency, everyone knows that we will need extra time to get used to it and productivity drops by at least 50%.  Yay, we lose 50% of our money and increase the risk for billing errors for 2-6 weeks. 
  Another problem lies in the audience for the EMR.  Most of the hospitals choose an EMR based on billing, not ease of use or 'doctor friendliness.'  So, the ones who bring in the money for the group or hospital get a crummy EMR forced on them by the administration, which does not bring in any money at all.   Hopefully, you can see the potential for conflict and ill feelings.
 
  All in all, EMR is here to stay.  Or to be erased by a virus.  Or a power outage.  Or user error.  And what about those old antique charts that we are trying to get rid of?  We have them filed away, just in case.