Have you ever worked on a project that fought you every step of the way? I remember when I was rebuilding the heads on my truck engine. I had the worst time imaginable reinstalling the exhaust manifold. I tried, and tried, and finagled, and twisted, and griped until I remembered something Tripp Weeks, the president of XLEMR once told me.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results,” he said. It was at that point I realized I was trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. My approach just wasn’t working; I needed to take a step back, regroup, and come up with a different strategy. Sure enough, after analyzing the problem for a while, I came up with an easy, workable solution.
Are we doing the same thing in healthcare IT? Conventional EHR software uses relational databases, either through a local server or a web-based application. This architecture works well for some industries. However, it is rigid by nature, and is not easily adapted for the needs of a diverse user group.
Physicians are a diverse group, with requirements and workflows that are unique to each practice. In addition, their environment constantly evolves due to regulatory, payment, and technological change. Rigid, inflexible systems sap productivity, engender frustration among users, and ultimately lead to declining revenue. This is why most physicians are unhappy with their EHR system.
The HIT industry has tried incremental changes, tweaking user interfaces or other variables. Like my problem with the exhaust manifold, the conventional solution still does not seem to be working, despite the industry’s constant finagling and twisting. It’s time to step back, re-asses the situation, and create a new paradigm, a revolutionary solution.
XLEMR is that solution. We took a radical approach to EHR architecture by building our system on Microsoft Office. This gives us a solid foundation, while empowering easy, rapid, and inexpensive change to accommodate the evolving needs of physicians. If you are tired of trying to pound a square peg into a round hole, please contact us at info@xlemr.com. We would love to listen to your concerns and frustrations.
