Plugging my Interview and Otherwise Clogging Things
[By D. Kellus Pruitt DDS]
Where are the EDR cheerleaders when I need them? On Tuesday May 31st, I’ve got a show to put on!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewholetooth
Where are the EDR Cheerleaders?
Every now and then I still come across EDR vendors on the internet who would mislead naïve dentists about their product to make a sale. Today, I held FirstEMR representative Robert Evans accountable for self-serving misinformation he posted on EMR and HIPAA forum. (My dad would be proud that I told him “Get that garbage out of here!”). Then, remembering my manners, I invited Mr. Evans to please call into The Whole Tooth Blogtalkradio program on May 31 to further discuss the future of EHRs in dentistry. Unfortunately, because of things like the reflexive “garbage” statement, I don’t think he’ll show.
I try my best to be “collegial,” but I simply cannot pretend unethical sales techniques are acceptable in my neighborhood, and I want to help my friends easily recognize them… so what if I have a little fun.
http://www.emrandhipaa.com/emr-and-hipaa/2010/11/18/emr-stimulus-q-and-a-emr-stimulus-money-and-dentists/comment-page-1/#comment-133132
Of Robert Evans
Thanks for your response, Robert Evans.
As I read your list of 6 rationalizations for electronic dental records here on the EMR and HIPAA forum , it occurred to me that you haven’t had a chance to read my detailed post on this thread from November 22 (Number 14) in which I de-bunked 28 similar myths – substantially including your 6. But since I never tire of doing this, let’s once again go through the details of a popular national blunder in dentistry you and other well-intentioned stakeholders in the HIT industry were sucked into.
“My personal background is medical administration and operations.” That would explain your misconceptions about EHRs in the unique field of dentistry.
For your first mistake, you say “Dentists can qualify as eligible providers for ARRA incentives” You really should have gone on to explain that for a dentist to qualify for the stimulus money, 30% of his or her practice has to be from Medicare/Medicaid. Since you surely should have known that, to fail to mention it could easily be interpreted as deceptive.
This is just a guess, but I’d say less than 10% of the dentists in the nation in private practice would make it on that qualification alone even if it made business sense to accept government money and the expensive demands that come with it. Since you are in the EHR business, you may have more accurate figures on that. What’s more, our grandchildren’s money will be gone long before the stimulus makes it to dentistry. You should already know that as well.
“All of our clients, including Dentists, Endodontists, Periodontists, Implant Surgeons and more are extremely pleased that they made the transition “ All of them, Robert? Really?
The ME-P Forum
This ME-P forum right here is full of stories about disappointed providers – perhaps other than your clients – who are finding huge problems with the transition. De-installations are far too common. It seems like a while back it was close to 30%. Then again, since you are in the business, you probably have more accurate figures for that as well.
Even the stimulus money isn’t sufficient subsidy for physicians to realize a return on investment in EMRs. And virtually nobody is interoperable as planned. That means the office tools you sell raise the cost of healthcare rather than lower it. What’s more, physicians stand to benefit from interoperability much more than dentists regardless of stimulus money. And if a dentist can’t expect ROI from an office tool, it’s called a hobby.
By the way, have you looked at the Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements that stand between dentists and disappearing ARRA money? Well-meaning outsiders with plans for the common good just don’t realize that someone has to enter every piece of irrelevant detail about dental patients that CMS requires in order to receive full payment.
It’s a trap, Robert. And it’s not very well hidden. Dentists don’t take candy from strangers.
The Benefits
“The benefits to your office are numerous and too many to mention here; but, please take into account the following”:
1. Never having to worry about compliance issues, as we are 100% compliant with all standards and formats that CMS is mandating.
– You are 100% scary. As long as a provider stores or transmits electronic PHI he or she clearly must be concerned about HIPAA compliance issues. What’s more, as a Business Entity for the dentists you serve, if your computer system is hacked or someone on your end otherwise fumbles or steals 500 or more of a dentists’ patients’ PHI, all of the dentist’s patients must be notified of the danger of identity theft. In addition, federal law stipulates that news of the data breach must be broadcast as a press release in the dentist’s local media. This can easily bankrupt a dentist… You just had to know about this before today.
Your compliancy claim is not only wrong, but it is irresponsible and unethical advertising. You are not 100% compliant. Since the Rule is intentionally vague, nobody is. Get that garbage out of here!
2. Greatly reduce or even eliminate human error. Some offices have brought back billing into their control and terminated the outsourcing.
– Are you kidding? Eliminate human error? Someone put you up to this didn’t they. And “outsourcing”? Once again, this is misleading and irresponsible information, Robert. What about keystroke errors? Only frustrated vendors wish computers would replace human intelligence.
3. Facilitate lab and prescription orders. Offices using e-scribe services are already on board into accepting the benefits of an EMR.
– So does this mean that when the lab delivery person comes to my office to pick up plaster models of a patient’s teeth, the prescription for the restoration must be sent separately by email instead of inserting a short hand-written note in the package… with the relevant patient’s models?
– I don’t sign enough prescriptions to make e-prescribing worth it. I really, really don’t. So how expensive would you make dental care?
4. Simple and efficient scheduling. The reception and schedulers are not tied to the telephone, fax and charting tasks as well as insurance verifications.
– That’s never before been a significant problem. Dental offices were run surprisingly efficient for decades before computers were around. Since dentistry is intricate handwork, the bottleneck in dental offices isn’t the front desk. It’s the dentist.
– What’s so wrong with telephone and fax, by the way? One doesn’t have to be a HIPAA-covered entity to use those tools.
– As for insurance verification, is the EDR intended to help the patient or the insurance company?
5. No fumbling for charts, paperwork, etc. (significant cost savings)
– Prove it.
6. Gain 15+ hours per week, back!
– Where did find this chunk of information? Please don’t insult us with wild, irresponsible statements to improve sales of your product. That would be unethical.
“Again, there are too many to list here, but contact me anytime for a quick on-site or online demonstration and let us prove to you that FirstEMR is the most appropriate solution to meet your required EMR needs.”
eDR Mandate?
Did you intentionally say my “required” EMR needs? You wouldn’t be implying that EMRs are somehow “mandated” in dentistry are you, Robert? That would be called a rookie mistake and you would be about a year behind information published in the ADA News, which was wrong to mislead members on this point in 2008.
http://www.ada.org/5348.aspx
Rather than contacting you for a quick on-site or online demonstration, I’ll do you one better. I am to be interviewed on “The Whole Tooth” blogtalkradio on May 31 concerning the future of EHRs in dentistry. It promises to be an unprecedented discussion about the obscure topic, and is certain to be educational to thousands of dentists who have been misled for years about HIPAA and EDRs.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewholetooth
Assessment
When the time comes, a telephone number will be provided for live questions. I invite you to call in, Robert, and we can discuss EHRs in dentistry before an audience of around 15,000.
Conclusion
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Filed under: Information Technology, Pruitt's Platform | Tagged: ARRA, Darrell Pruitt, eDRs, EHRs, electronic medical records, FirstEMR, HI-TECH, Robert Evans, Whole Tooth blogtalkradio | 6 Comments »
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