Totally Wired: How You Can Improve Your Practice with Technology March 23, 2010

A national survey of 2,758 physicians published in the July 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that only 4 percent of physicians reported having an extensive, fully functional electronic medical records system. Moreover, a mere 13 percent of physician respondents reported having even a basic electronic medical record system.

Clearly, as the rest of the professional world is moving forward quickly with the adoption of new technologies, most physicians are still struggling to adopt a basic electronic medical record system.  In addition, as Facebook, Twitter, and other new social mediums are rapidly transforming U.S. culture, many physicians are still trying to figure out how to send text messages.

As heart rhythm specialists, we work within a medical specialty dominated by technology and are very in tune with new technologies. However, even though we are at the forefront of technology in medicine, there is still much we can learn to improve our efficacy at providing care.

To meet this need, the Heart Rhythm Society has organized a special technology session, Totally Wired: How You Can Improve Your Practice with Technology, at the upcoming 31^st Annual Scientific Sessions in Denver. We have invited David Lee Scher, MD, FHRS, Director of Cardiac Electrophysiology at the Pinnacle Health System, to share how a totally wired EP practice can improve patient care and maximize efficiencies. Following Dr. Scher, Ben Wilkoff, founder of Learning is Change, will show how EPs can utilize the new social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and others to reach out to patients, referring physicians and colleagues and build communities in ways previously unimagined. (more…)