Thursday, May 20, 2010

Middle-ware: The Independent Way

For those of us with EMRs, one common challenge that exists is how to interface in-office lab analyzer data with your EMR software.   Basically, there are 4 ways to get lab data into your EMR:

  1. Manually: Inefficient, slow, error prone.  DO NOT do it this way.
  2. Scan results: Time consuming, error prone 
  3. Middle-ware: If you are fortunate to have an analyzer that interfaces seamlessly with your specific EMR, this is the best solution.
  4. Customized software: If your analyzer outputs data in a digital format, you can develop a solution easily and inexpensively, even if you have no programming knowledge yourself.  I recently developed one for my semen analyzer.
Your goal should be to efficiently and automatically get data into your EMR where you can sign off on the result and act accordingly.  Electronically is the best way to do this.

Good luck

Dr S