USF is on a mission to change that with the PaperFree Florida initiative, which has received a $6 million federal stimulus grant.
"We're going to make Florida the first paperless state," College of Medicine Dean Stephen Klasko said at a news conference Tuesday to announce the grant.
No more will doctors scribble prescriptions on pads and keep handwritten notes in files. If the initiative succeeds, they'll record all information about their patients in a computer and have instant access to their own notes and prescriptions plus those of other doctors.
The initiative will transform the quality and safety of health care, Klasko said. Helping doctors keep closer track of their orders and diagnoses will reduce errors and duplication in medical services.
But officials know doctors won't make the digital switch without help, said Jay Wolfson, USF professor of public health and medicine. "This is a huge cultural change."
So USF plans to train and hire more than 100 people who will visit doctors in Hillsborough and 19 other counties. They will help set up new systems and train office staffs.
"It will be a harder decision for the elder generation of physicians," said Mathis Becker, vice president of the Hillsborough County Medical Association. "It will be easier for younger physicians who have trained using the electronic health records."
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In a study last year of doctors' attitudes toward the new technology, more than 1,000 in the 20 USF western central Florida counties said they were interested.
But upfront costs as high as $50,000 are a challenge. So is getting all the different systems to "talk" to one another. The state is working on creating an information hub that could be used to connect digital doctors, but it will be up to the doctors to access it.
Becker predicted that the federal government will end up extending its 2015 deadline for having electronic record systems in every doctor's office in the country.
"This is a good idea, but it will be complicated," he said. "We have a long way to go."
Other institutions also are getting money to help make the plan work.
The University of Central Florida in Orlando will get about $7.5 million, and Community of Health Centers Alliance Inc. in St. Petersburg will get $10.98 million to create what the government calls Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers.
The goal is to "bring doctors into the information age," said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Florida, who helped get the money for USF.
USF's digital "ambassadors," as they're being called, will not be pushing any one system. The university has identified six companies that sell federally certified electronic medical record systems. To receive federal certification, a system must have provisions to protect patients' privacy, Wolfson said.
The federal government has also set aside money to help doctors buy these systems, $44,000 to $66,000 over five years plus $3,500 per year for upgrades.
Patients won't see much difference, except they won't be carrying a piece of paper to the pharmacy anymore. Doctors will send prescriptions there directly.
And patients who need help on the weekend, when their doctors are out, are more likely to get better care: An on-call doctor treating a colleague's patient would use a hand-held computer to see the patient's full medical record, USF pediatrician and internist Hugo Narvarte said.
Wolfson, who is directing the PaperFree initiative at USF, said he plans to start hiring the digital trainers within in the next three months.
"We'll partner with the community colleges for these jobs," he said, focusing on people with medical office training. They'll receive training in how these systems work and how to talk to doctors.
Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.
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Should Medicine Go Paperless?Originally from: http://www.nursinglink.monster.com/news/articles/12079-should-medicine-go-paperless
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