Electronic health records

Meaningful use is interfering in the patient-physcian relationship

Electronic health records should simplify the medical record keeping process and improve accessibility by moving records online where they can be shared by patients and medical professionals. Unfortunately, recent government regulations have placed new, additional burdens on the medical record keeping process resulting in physicians spending more and more time at their computers and less time with their patients.

Medicare's so-called "meaningful use" (MU) regulations for physicians, while well intended, are actually interfering in many ways with the patient-physician relationship.  

The MU requirements are long and complicated, but fail to ensure that patients and physicians can readily access care information.  Important patient data that was once at the physicians' fingertips is much harder to find.  With 100 clicks of a mouse per patient, physicians are spending more time complying with the regulations and less time on patient care. 

There is still time to reform and streamline this regulatory process, making meaningful use requirements work for both patients and doctors alike. The AMA continues to urge Congress and the administration to help break the red tape and stop regulations from interfering with the doctor-patient relationship.