Practice Partner User Profile -- Internal Medicine

Westgate Medical Group is an 8 doctor Internal Medicine clinic located in the city of Milwaukee, WI. Originally, this clinic utilized the paper charts to document patient visits. This was a very labor-intensive process, requiring the same data to be entered in multiple locations throughout the same chart. "Because the traditional paper chart required a massive amount of time in order to document a day's worth of visits, I was beginning to spend more time with a patient's chart than I did with the patient themselves," recalls Rita Hanson, M.D., a partner at the practice.

In an attempt to find a less labor intensive alternative to the paper chart, the practice looked to electronic medical records (EMR) for a solution. After viewing demonstrations of a number of systems, they chose Practice Partner Patient Records - in part because it eliminated much of the frustrating redundant entry of the paper chart. "When I viewed the Practice Partner Patient Records demonstration, my eyes lit up," explains Dr. Hanson. "It was like seeing my dreams on the computer screen. The system not only supported single data entry, but it did it in such an intuitive environment that simulates that traditional paper chart."

Practice Partner Patient Records has a unique progress note centric design that automatically populates the entire patient chart from the data entered into the progress note. In additional, it also has the capability to import information that already exists within the chart (i.e. family and social history, medication lists) into the current progress note. "This was exactly what I was looking for," stated Dr, Hanson. "By automatically exporting and importing data from the progress note, I never have to input the same data more than once." With this design, Dr. Hanson believed she could reduce the time spend with the chart, and increase the time spent with patients. And that is exactly what happened.

The group, led by Dr. Hanson's efforts, has been aggressive in customizing the system to fit their documentation styles. "'All of us planned to directly input patient data into the computer (instead of dictating it), but only a few of us could type. We needed a system that promoted fast and efficient data entry without much typing. Although customizing our templates to achieve this goal took some time, it has more than paid off. Our customized templates have facilitated direct entry of patient data into the note as rapidly as we had hoped to do." This has allowed Dr. Hanson to increase the number of patient she sees per day by roughly 15%. "Not only am I seeing more patients, but I am also getting out of the office faster," adds Dr. Hanson. During an office visit, Dr. Hanson can quickly and completely document any visit type. "On a typical visit, I only need to type about 10% of the note. The rest of my documentation is completed via pre-formatted phrase choices and observations within the clinical template," explains Dr. Hanson. "This makes it extremely efficient even for our doctors who aren't great typists."

Besides faster and more complete documentation, Westgate Medical Group is also reaping a host of other benefits associated with an electronic medical record, such as universal chart access. "Having any chart available whenever and wherever you need it is a life saver. We no longer have lost or misplaced notes, and we have eliminated the time associated with pulling and filing paper charts," remarks Dr. Hanson.

The clinic has also saved time in regards to patient callbacks. "Because we can immediately look at the patient's chart when they initially call in with a question, we have eliminated the need to take a message, pull their chart, and then call them back," explains Dr. Hanson. "Not only has this allowed us to reduce our office staff FTEs by 25%, but it has also allowed our remaining staff to work more efficiently."

Eliminating the paper chart also brings another benefit - freeing up the space associated with chart storage. Within 6 months of implementing Practice Partner Patient Records, the clinic was able to remove their chart racks completely - replacing the space with an additional exam room.

The practice has also dramatically improved the speed and efficiency of routine patient correspondence, such as lab result letters. "Before we implemented Patient Records I had to hand write result letters to patients whose lab data we received. This involved manually writing each individual letter after the lab data had been manually entered into the chart -- a process that took a significant amount of time. Now, with the lab interfaces and letter templates (pre-formatted correspondence templates), I am able to create these result letters in a matter of 20-30 seconds per letter," states Dr. Hanson. Westgate Medical Group's lab interface allows incoming lab data to automatically be inserted into the correct patient's chart.

Implementing Patient Records has also allowed Westgate Medical Group to improve the quality of care they can give their patient. " Patient Records allows us to easily print-out the medication lists for our patient so they can review them while they are waiting. This allows us to double-check that we have up-to-date documentation of all the medications our patients are taking," explains Dr. Hanson. "This is just another way in which the EMR helps keep a complete and current patient chart."

Compliance with preventative measures (health maintenance) has also improved thanks to the age and gender specific health maintenance reminders within Patient Records, that appear each time a patient's chart is opened. Always a high priority for the group before implementing Patient Records, the system has allowed them to increase their patient's compliance with recommended preventative procedure into the high 90th percentiles, while decreasing the amount of labor required.

Westgate Medical Group uses the Total Practice Partner package: Patient Records, Medical Billing, and Appointment Scheduler . The three applications are completely integrated, which streamlines data entry, enhances communication, and makes reports easier to generate. "Having the complete integrated solution has helped us create a very efficient office," states Dr. Hanson. "I can't imagine how we ever operated without it."