Are Doctors Paying Attention to Emr Software?

Electronic Medical Records got a ringing endorsementit's easy to contract with an EMR software company,
from Senator Hillary Clinton at a January campaignassuming that they've handled everything in the
stop, which may be an omen of increased discussioncomplex world of medical legality.
between now and November.Offices who turn to EMR software should be advised:
Many of the requirements of the Health Insurancebe doubly certain any system you purchase is
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) increase theHIPAA-compliant, since any legal action is likely to be
complexity of operating a paper-based office. With thedirected at you. Things to look for in ensuring HIPAA
burden of compliance landing squarely on the shoulderscompliance from your EMR software include:
of the medical establishment, many practices are- Digital signatures and encryption on all patient
turning to electronic medical records software,information.
automating functions that once required physical- An intra-office database (rather than one stored on
paperwork. Since technology drives public policy, aanother server).
new concern has made its way onto the federal- Safe, secure backup capability.
radar: theft of electronic medical records.Since the inception of HIPAA and the takeoff of the
In the interests of ensuring the security of patientEMR trend, there are now many agencies in the
records, the Department of Health and Humanbusiness of independent HIPAA audits. In your search
Services (HHS) last year began a process offor EMR software, look for software that has already
unannounced HIPAA audits; this forces offices andbeen certified as HIPAA-compliant, preferably by
hospitals to be consistently up-to-date in policies andmultiple independent organizations.
practices involving patient records. In this environment,