SPOTLIGHT: Why some departments demand specialty EMRs

The debate over best-of-breed vs. single-source implementations just never ends. Firmly in the latter camp is Geoff Brown, senior VP and CIO at Inova Health System, Falls Church, Va., (and an excellent panelist at a FierceMobileHealthcare breakfast at HIMSS10 last March). Writing on Healthcare Exchange, a blog sponsored by high-acuity EMR vendor Picis, Brown explains why Inova still favors specialty EMRs for certain departments, including emergency care. "Most CIOs would agree that an ED has different IT needs than other departments--from decision-making support to complicated levels of documentation required for reimbursement--and these needs require specific functionality that not all systems provide," Brown says. "At Inova Health, specialized systems afford us key functionality that many house-wide systems just can't deliver. House-wide systems support the flow of patient information and working through data exchange requirements is key. In the end, it is all about the patient receiving optimal care and the tools working well for our physicians, nurses, and other staff." Blog