CHiT Director Inspired by High-Tech Family Physicians

"I feel as though I toured the future of family medicine, at least with respect to health IT," said David C. Kibbe, M.D., director of AAFP's Center for Health Information Technology, after recently going "on the road" to visit a few FPs happy with their electronic health records systems.

"Is it perfect? No. But is it exciting? You bet," he said.

Kibbe planned a motorcycle road trip around his EHR presentation at the Tennessee AFP summer meeting scheduled for July 22 because he wanted a first-hand look at how FPs are "adapting health information technology in their practices to improve quality of care and gain efficiencies."

He made his travel plans known through the Academy's EHR e-mail discussion list, had invitations from five practices and was able to make it to four: Gregory Hershner, M.D., and Philip Yount, M.D., of Jefferson, N.C.; Steve Samudrala, M.D., Brentwood, Tenn.; Susan Andrews, M.D., and Randall Rickard, M.D., of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and David Rinehart, M.D., of Belmont, N.C.

Kibbe was impressed by the "fine family physicians doing what we do, taking great care of people and in the process utilizing EHR systems as though the EHR was simply another tool to improve care."

After completing his trip -- 2,200 miles from Chapel Hill, N.C., to Tennessee's Paris Landing State Park on his MotoGuzzi Quota 1100ES motorcycle -- Kibbe said his strongest impression was how "perfectly normal" it seemed for FPs and their staffs to be using computerized systems to take care of patients and run their practices. "These practices have completely transformed the way they operate, and to them, computers and wireless networking is normal," he said.

It was interesting to see how important communication and information flow have become in these high tech medical offices, said Kibbe. "These practices have automated the practice, not just the doctor's work." Features such as internal messaging, e-mail communication with patients, remote chart access, electronic lab result reporting and e-prescribing are where physicians, staff and patients really see the benefits of health IT, he said.

None of the physicians complained about the cost of going electronic. "They all said the expense was definitely worth it," Kibbe said. These are thriving practices in which the doctors and staff all say the EHR system "saves them time, money and brings in more revenue," he added

Although each practice -- indeed, each physician within each practice -- has tailored its EHR system to fit the physician's work style, "they all have adapted the EHRs to 'get it done' in ways that are very satisfying to them," said Kibbe.