Stories from the Front Lines: The Journey to Meaningful Use

On the Meaningful Use Vanguard: Dr. Keith Davis, MD
(Family Medicine in Shoshone, ID)

Meet Dr. Keith Davis, a member of WIREC’s Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV). The program recognizes and celebrates an exclusive group of champions of EHR adoption and meaningful use. MUVers are thought leaders, innovators, role models, and trusted local advisors. They are specifically recognized by the Washington & Idaho Regional Extension Center (WIREC), as designated by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for HIT, because of their commitment to using certified EHRs for the purposes of improving patient quality of care and helping to lead the way for other healthcare providers in demonstrating meaningful use.
 
Dr. Davis has been in solo practice in Family Medicine for the past 25 years. He is the sole physician on staff, but his practice also employs a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, a certified nurse midwife and two licensed clinical social workers. He concentrates in family medicine, including obstetrics/gynecology.

He has had an EHR (eClinicalWorks or eCW) since April of 2009. His system is integrated and combines both practice management and medical record systems. Dr. Davis says that having the EHR has many advantages, chief among them the ability to access office information remotely, and being able to keep track of such things as refill requests and medical records when he is at a hospital or traveling. This access saves the doctor a lot of time because the information is at his fingertips, eliminating the need to search through files and look for paper charts. This ease of access and speed with which information can be obtained benefits patients the most because it allows the doctor to be maximize his responsiveness to patient needs, when time is often of the essence. One aspect of his EHR Dr. Davis particularly likes is that the system has the ability to capture patient photos—seeing patient faces is a great way to reinforce the patient/doctor connection.

Dr. Davis also says that the EHR has allowed for improved quality of care, especially in terms of better tracking of vital information such as lab results and allergy information. Having information like this readily available makes for safer and more cost-effective medicine.

One area of Dr. Davis’ EHR that’s currently in the works and which he believes will have great patient benefit is a patient portal. The portal will allow patients to have easy and secure access to medical information and will enable them to correct information and make appointments.

Although Dr. Davis believes that EHRs are a great boon to medicine and certainly the future of medicine, he does say that there are some drawbacks to making the transition, especially initially. “There’s considerable upfront cost, although I think most physicians will be glad they made the investment in the long run and will, in fact, wish they had done it sooner.” 

Further, he says that from his viewpoint, most of the major EHR vendors are all very good, but that practitioners new to EHRs should watch out for a couple of things. “They should thoroughly check out the vendor’s IT support and, if possible, have an IT person on staff. It’s also important that whatever EHR is chosen, that it’s customizable for individual practice needs.”

As for meaningful use incentives, Dr. Davis considers himself on target for Medicaid incentive dollars. “Our WIREC consultant has been instrumental in keeping us on track,” Dr. Davis says. He also says that if a practice can qualify for MU incentives, they should try and meet the requirements because the incentive funds will help offset the cost of an EHR.

In the end, the real benefit of an EHR is serving patients better. “In terms of safety and quality of care, I want to give patients my best.”