The crux of our problem in underserved primary healthcare is the competition between access and quality. The demand for primary care providers like myself far outstrips the supply, so unless we work at a frenetic pace, the majority of patients can't access our services. The government, providing public insurance to the underserved, cares about access for its people, so reimbursement rates to clinics are set to essentially guarantee we maintain this pace, to keep our clinic open.
Providers also yearn to provide adequate access to care, but we get are ensnarled trying to deliver it. Electronic health record programs and information technology setups in our clinics are purchased on the cheap, and rate-limit the provision of health care. The relative financial cost of this mismatch between actual and adequate IT power seems difficult to overstate. Providers like me cite "the EHR" and "the computer" as major and permanent job dissatisfiers, and fewer patients are seen due to sluggish, cumbersome processes.
I imagine a clinic where the EHR is intuitive, lightning-fast, and virtually crash-free, and smoothly integrates with the larger IT setup.
Or, as a consolation and a viable workaround, one where the providers quickly dictate orders to other staff. While others are fighting tortuous computer workflows, we are spending time with patients and making medical decisions with them.
In either scenario, the clinic operates at a higher level. More patients receive healthcare, providers are more content, and revenue increases.
