A recent article in the New York Times described the effects of a hospital’s conversion to an EMR system, or electronic medical records system. In many cases, the patient doctor relationship suffered due to the doctor’s manipulation of records through a third party – the computer.Even tech savvy docs still have trouble keeping the patient involved, because understanding the records can mean turning one’s back on the patient in order to read the patient’s history on a screen. Some doctors have trouble interacting with patients to begin with, and for them, using EMRs makes the situation even worse.
Fortunately, when ordering medical supplies or nursing home supplies, United Med Supply doesn’t sacrifice the supplier- suppliee relationship. Using computers almost always increases the ability for the hospital or nursing home to easily get what they need, without having to undergo much difficulty. Part of the reason for this is the lack of face to face interaction, and thus the need for computers to supplement a history without messy paperwork. Facilitating the use of medical supplies should make it easier on the patient eventually, because when the supplier does everything they can for the doctor, the doctor is happy. And a happy doctor means a happy patient.
