M.D. Coalition Champions Use of Electronic Records

A new physician coalition representing 14 medical societies including APA will promote and facilitate the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in physician practices, especially small- to medium-sized ones.

The Physicians Electronic Health Record Coalition (PEHRC) is committed to educating physicians about the benefits and best use of EMRs as well as helping them select high-quality and affordable products, according to a coalition press release.

“While physicians are adopting information technology in growing numbers, there remain substantial economic and technical barriers to full-scale implementation of EMRs. The PEHRC will allow physicians to address these barriers with a unified voice,” said PEHRC Co-chair David Kibbe, M.D., director of the Center for Health Information Technology at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

The PEHRC was announced on July 22, one day after the Department of Health and Human Services laid out a road map for creating a national health care information infrastructure (Psychiatric News, August 20).

Kibbe anticipates that it will take six months to a year to flesh out the coalition's agenda, the press release noted.

In addition to APA and AAFP, the coalition's founders are the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Neurology, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, American College of Rheumatology, American Osteopathic Association, and American Urological Association. ▪