8TESTIMONIALSFirst-time participant givesReferral Book rave reviews!!!Within the first week of the<strong>Health</strong>care Referral Bookbeing delivered, I receivedcalls setting up appointments for fittingsfrom staff in medical offices andfrom patients who had visited medicaloffices and saw the Referral Bookthere. Interestingly, I hadn’t evenreceived my copies yet,and these calls alertedme that the book hadstarted being delivered.Being the first issue forthe Lexington area, Iwas surprised that the<strong>Health</strong>care Referral Book hasgenerated the fastest advertisingresponse I have experienced for mybusiness, and I have used manyforms of advertising and media in thepast – this ad definitely paid for itselfthe first month!Donnie and Sara, I want to thankLinda CookOwner, The Undie Boxyou for the opportunityof being in the initialissue of the<strong>Health</strong>care ReferralBook and for your persistencein continuingto contact me when I said I wastoo busy to consider one morething to do. I also want to mentionthat the <strong>Health</strong>care ReferralBook staff was wonderful towork with and was very helpfulin getting my ad copy preparedaround my over-<strong>com</strong>mitted schedule– an amazingly patient group.MA BS OT UE TC IT QO UM EYWe help make lifebeautiful again859.268.1267Supporting women since 1959Experience andchoice matter!I am available to speak to prospective advertisers about thispositive advertising experience for my business, The UndieBox, in Lexington, Ky. I can be reached at 859.268.1267.Kindest regards, Linda Cook, owner, The Undie BoxBRAFITTINGWIGSANDSKINCAREBRASIZESWIMWEARLinda Cook, Certified FitterCertified BOCRegistered ABCBy Appointmentwww.undiebox.<strong>com</strong>SERVICES
New Study Shows Limited Use Of Electronic Medical RecordsLess than a third of the nation’s hospitalemergency and outpatient departments useelectronic medical records, and even fewer doctors’offices do, according to a report released today bythe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC).About 31 percent of hospital emergencydepartments, 29 percent of outpatient departments,and 17 percent of doctors’ offices have electronicmedical records to support patient care, as reportedin CDC’s ambulatory medical care surveys,conducted from 2001 to 2003.The use of electronic records in health care lagsfar behind the <strong>com</strong>puterization of information inother sectors of the economy. In health care, billingapplications were the first to be <strong>com</strong>puterized.Electronic billing systems are used in three-quartersof physician office practices, but <strong>com</strong>puterizationof clinical records has been much slower.To help bring health care into the informationage, President Bush calledfor the majority ofAmericans to haveelectronic health recordswithin 10 years andestablished the role of aNational Coordinator for<strong>Health</strong> InformationTechnology in order torealize this goal.“Electronic medical records and <strong>com</strong>puterizedsystems offer opportunities to improve the qualityof medical care in all settings as health careproviders learn the potential of these systems andhow to use them,” said Catharine W. Burt, Ed.D.,lead author of the study. “The majority ofambulatory care in this country is provided inphysicians’ offices but less than one in five doctorsis using electronic medical records.”The survey measured the use of systems toimprove the accuracy and safety of prescriptiondrug use. About 8 percent of physicians use a<strong>com</strong>puterized physician order entry system(CPOE), in which orders for drugs and diagnostictests are entered electronically rather than onprescription pads. In these electronic systems, the<strong>com</strong>puter <strong>com</strong>pares the order against standards fordosing, checks for allergies or drug interactions,and warns of potential patient problems.The study found younger physicians, those under50 years of age, were twice as likely as physiciansage 50 or over to use this <strong>com</strong>puterized system forordering prescriptions.“While national adoption rates for healthinformation technology are slowly climbing, we areseeing a widening gap between larger hospitals andphysician groups and their smaller counterparts,”said Dr. David Brailer, National Coordinator for<strong>Health</strong> Information Technology. “Physicians andproviders face many barriers to adopting healthToll Free 866-885-1150information tools. We need to create incentives forproviders to adopt electronic medical records andensure the products they buy will do the job.”“Use of Computerized Clinical Support Systemsin Medical Settings: United States, 2001-2003” isavailable at www.cdc.gov/nchs.According to a November 2004 articlepublished by the American Academy of FamilyPractice, an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)system is a smart investment for any sizepractice.EMRs allow medical offices to reduce costsand increase revenues.Save money by:• Reducing or eliminating transcription costs.• Reducing or eliminating paper chart-related costs.• Improving staff efficiency.Enhance revenue by:• Improving coding.• Improving charge entry.• Increasing provider productivity.The American Academy of Family Practicehas created a five-year EMR cost/benefitworksheet to allow you to easily determine howyour practice will benefit from an EMR.To access this worksheet, visitwww.aafp.org/fpm/20041100/43whyi.html9ULRICH MEDICAL CONCEPTS
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