Ever wonder the things that we could do if time machines were actually invented? Just imagine how many times a person could travel back in history and answer the many questions on how things came to be. Let’s imagine, for a moment, that we are going on an expedition. Close your eyes and allow your mind to journey back into the 1960’s to explore the wonderful beginnings of the system we utilize today known as electronic health records (electronic document storage).
In the late 1960’s, a physician by the name of Lawrence L. Weed published “Medical Records that Guide and Teach.” This amazing document was the first to describe the concept of EMRs. Dr. Weed had such an insightful vision that COSTAR (computer stored ambulatory record) was developed in the laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. COSTAR was created to maintain the medical history of patients, including their physical examinations, laboratory reports, diagnoses and the treatments that were implemented for them. It provides doctors with guidelines so that they would be able to avoid complications, such as practicing the incorrect treatment on a patient. This system was just the first of many to come. Dr. Weed embarked on such an astounding discovery in which was only going to make all things easier in the medical world.
Many systems such as TDS (technicon medical information management system), PROMIS (problem-oriented medical information system), THERESA, CHCS (composite health care system) and EpicCare soon followed. Allow me to break these systems down in a more understandable demeanor for those of us who are not necessarily aware of just what these systems actually do. TDS is a CPOE (computerized physician order entry) system that came about in the early 1970’s and it basically is the same thing as a paper chart, just an electronic one. It is a hospital based system, however, since it is computerized, it reduces error in the misreading of ineligible handwriting or an incorrect transcription of medicine orders. PROMIS was developed in the mid-70’s and it allowed patient data to be delivered to physicians in a timely manner and in sequential order. The lives of doctors became a bit less stressful with this. The system also provided a collection of data epidemiology studies as well as medical and business audits. THERESA began in the early 80’s, surrounded by the southern hospitality at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia and it is known for its success in direct data entry as well as handling inpatients and outpatients. It was such an accomplishment that 99.9 percent of the time, it was up and running. CHCS is a little different because in the late 1980’s, the Department of Defense was graced with the foundation of EMRs. Science Applications International Corporation created CHCS specifically to cater to military health care centers. In addition to all of the achievements made in the EMR world, Epic Systems Corporation, founded by Judith Faulkner, created EpicCare in the early 1990’s. EpicCare was known to be the first Windows based EMR. This paved a new road because Epic made sure that with the software in computers evolving, EMRs also needed to evolve to stay up to date with the latest in technology. EpicCare is currently still in use and is very popular in the medical field. It is used by academics, pediatrics, large organizations as well as single doctor offices. EpicCare even offers MyChart which allows patients to have web access to their records along with messaging features to keep in touch with their physicians.
Lawrence Weed started with a simple idea that information would be more effectively used to treat patients if it was electronic. He also believed that through the use of technology, key information would be quickly provided to specialists. Who knew that his idea would transpire into such an astounding system? Yet, with such an astounding system, there will need to be a way to ensure that all paper medical records are transferred onto the electronic medical records and that is where the amazing world of document scanning comes in handy. It turns those awful paper charts into electronic charts of wonder!
In the late 1960’s, a physician by the name of Lawrence L. Weed published “Medical Records that Guide and Teach.” This amazing document was the first to describe the concept of EMRs. Dr. Weed had such an insightful vision that COSTAR (computer stored ambulatory record) was developed in the laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital. COSTAR was created to maintain the medical history of patients, including their physical examinations, laboratory reports, diagnoses and the treatments that were implemented for them. It provides doctors with guidelines so that they would be able to avoid complications, such as practicing the incorrect treatment on a patient. This system was just the first of many to come. Dr. Weed embarked on such an astounding discovery in which was only going to make all things easier in the medical world.
Many systems such as TDS (technicon medical information management system), PROMIS (problem-oriented medical information system), THERESA, CHCS (composite health care system) and EpicCare soon followed. Allow me to break these systems down in a more understandable demeanor for those of us who are not necessarily aware of just what these systems actually do. TDS is a CPOE (computerized physician order entry) system that came about in the early 1970’s and it basically is the same thing as a paper chart, just an electronic one. It is a hospital based system, however, since it is computerized, it reduces error in the misreading of ineligible handwriting or an incorrect transcription of medicine orders. PROMIS was developed in the mid-70’s and it allowed patient data to be delivered to physicians in a timely manner and in sequential order. The lives of doctors became a bit less stressful with this. The system also provided a collection of data epidemiology studies as well as medical and business audits. THERESA began in the early 80’s, surrounded by the southern hospitality at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia and it is known for its success in direct data entry as well as handling inpatients and outpatients. It was such an accomplishment that 99.9 percent of the time, it was up and running. CHCS is a little different because in the late 1980’s, the Department of Defense was graced with the foundation of EMRs. Science Applications International Corporation created CHCS specifically to cater to military health care centers. In addition to all of the achievements made in the EMR world, Epic Systems Corporation, founded by Judith Faulkner, created EpicCare in the early 1990’s. EpicCare was known to be the first Windows based EMR. This paved a new road because Epic made sure that with the software in computers evolving, EMRs also needed to evolve to stay up to date with the latest in technology. EpicCare is currently still in use and is very popular in the medical field. It is used by academics, pediatrics, large organizations as well as single doctor offices. EpicCare even offers MyChart which allows patients to have web access to their records along with messaging features to keep in touch with their physicians.
Lawrence Weed started with a simple idea that information would be more effectively used to treat patients if it was electronic. He also believed that through the use of technology, key information would be quickly provided to specialists. Who knew that his idea would transpire into such an astounding system? Yet, with such an astounding system, there will need to be a way to ensure that all paper medical records are transferred onto the electronic medical records and that is where the amazing world of document scanning comes in handy. It turns those awful paper charts into electronic charts of wonder!