TRENTON, NJ, September 23, 2008 -- NJ Physicians, an organization representing New Jersey medical doctors, has received a $398,000 state grant to provide computer training to doctors' office staff to prepare them to use computerized patient record systems.

The age of the electronic patient health record is rapidly approaching and offers enormous promise for reducing medical errors, improving the quality of care and controlling costs.  Before those benefits can be realized, however, doctors and their employees will need extensive training in both general computer operations and on specific electronic medical records (EMR) systems. 

Under the $398,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor, NJ Physicians will offer computer training to the medical assistants, nurses, receptionists and other support staff employed by the group's approximately 1,100 member physicians.  

“New Jersey's doctors deliver some of the world's most modern, state-of-the-art care, but our paper-based health information system is straight from the 19th century,” said Ronald A. White, MD, president of NJ Physicians. “Electronic medical records promise to bring medical information technology into the 21st century, improve doctor's office efficiency and improve patient care, but it won't happen by itself. Training is essential to ensure that this technology is widely adopted and used to its fullest.”

An electronic medical record is an electronic version of a patient's medical history that health care providers maintain over time. Such records would contain information about current medical problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, lab results and more. Electronic medical records promise to reduce medical errors by improving the accuracy and clarity of information, reduce duplications of tests and delays in treatment, and streamline the work of doctors and their staffs in communicating with hospitals, insurers and other physicians. 

President George W. Bush has set a national goal for most Americans to have an electronic medical record by 2014.  The State of New Jersey moved recently to speed up those efforts by creating  the state Health Information Technology Commission, a body that will oversee the implementation of a statewide health information technology plan.

While hospitals and a number of large physician groups have already adopted EMR systems, many other doctors have not due to the high costs of acquisition and training.  A study by The Medical Group Management Association found that the average cost per physician for acquisition and initial training of an EMR system is approximately $25,000 per physician.  A recent survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine, meanwhile, found that just four percent of physicians in the United States had an EMR system.

The NJ Physicians organization hopes to encourage wider adoption of EMR technology by providing free instruction in basic computer operations as well as more advanced training in EMR system functionality to doctors' office employees.

“The electronic medical record is coming, and it will dramatically change the role of virtually everyone who works at a doctor’s office. Only those with intensive training will be able to adapt to this new environment,” said NJ Physicians Executive Director Jay Hedden.

He expected the first training sessions to take place this fall at local doctors' offices. Regional training workshops are also being planned.  NJ Physicians’ members should call Dana Sacco at 888-806-5362, for more information and to enroll.

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