Fragmented EHRs

Out of the many fears that I have as I transition from residency to becoming an attending is related to communication, specifically regarding electronic records and communication. As a family physician working in primary care, I frequently must juggle racing against the clock and trying to figure out what happened to the patient in front of me outside of my care. Often, I see a patient that is new to my clinic for whom I have no records and have no ability to quickly access their records, as their previous charts are stored in a electronic health record system for which I do not have access. All to often I see patients being managed by multiple specialists, or who was recently hospitalized, for whom I have no records. Sometimes, despite my clinic’s efforts to obtain these records, we never receive anything. For new patients, this potentially can lead to harms… Continue reading →