Great News!  We here at Johnson Optometric have survived our first year on the new Electronic Medical Records system. The idea of switching from paper charts to electronic records especially for a sixty year old practice with over 35,000 charts seemed overwhelming, not to mention the expense and time involved to implement it.   Of course our government’s reasoning of improved monitoring of patient data and improved clinical workflow was taken by many, even at our offices, with mixed feelings.

The sentiment of many older doctors and practices was to opt out of this new technology, many saying “This will take time away from patient care”. But the reality for our practices, which want to remain technologically current for the next sixty years, electronic medical records was our only choice. Now, a year later, we are experiencing the benefits of our EMR system and the ease of accessing and updating patient information.

We look forward the next phase of EMRs and healthcare system for providing secure ‘doctor to doctor’ communication and more personal ‘doctor to patient’ interaction. We hope in the long run that our patients will benefit from increased patient attention to their eye and health needs.

Dr. Rick L. Hartman
Johnson Optometric Associates