'Deinstallation' of EMRs in Phoenix – Study

This is hopefully not a change in the wrong direction here. The state of Arizona has been very pro electronic records, but the economy is affecting growth for additional installations, mostly in the small practice offices. Some of the other reasons for cancelling contracts include training issues along with functionality needs. If an EMR is installed without proper training, there’s a big chance for failure, that one I can certainly vouch for, as it needs to be done for the entire office staff as it does disrupt the way business has been done, but the rewards are great. Lack of support can contribute and money needed for support falls right in there too, so in one way or another, it appears to all come back to money. BD

PHOENIX – The state of Arizona and the Phoenix area have experienced a high adoption rate for electronic medical records, but this has been followed by a "deinstallation" of the technology, according a report by HealthLeaders-InterStudy.

Physician groups in Phoenix are canceling their EMR contracts as a result of training, functionality or affordability issues. This is especially prevalent among smaller physician groups, the report says.

The report said "deinstallation" due to financial issues is not unique to physician groups or to Arizona. For example, in areas like Miami, where the economic downturn is threatening the profitability of hospitals, adoption of EMRs has been slow because of a lack of funding for such capital projects.