EMR: Black and White and Green All Over

I recently read an article in Fast Company about how greed and green go hand in hand. The article spent time talking about how becoming sustainable or “green” can actually lead to a more productive, thus profitable business. Hence, it got me thinking about the eco-friendly aspect of my business.

Yes, we have a recycle bin and motion detectors on the lights, but I’m talking about the services that we offer to our clients. You see, we’re not just offering hospitals and medical centers a more efficient records-keeping system, we’re actually helping them take a huge step in becoming green by using far less paper and producing less waste.

The goal of switching to electronic medical records (EMR) has always been to create a better records system that allows medical facilities everywhere to be virtually linked to one another, making information and communication much faster. When healthcare facilities are upgraded to EMR they are more efficient, allowing them to take more patients and become more profitable.

But as a happy side effect, these institutions are also “going green.”

The article I read talks about how many companies don’t attempt to become more sustainable because the process is long and costly. The same is true with EMR. Many doctor’s offices and hospitals have not made the switch to electronic medical records because it takes a while to transfer the files over to a digital format, there’s a pretty big learning curve involved with properly training the staff and, yes, I won’t lie – it’s not cheap.

However, once it’s all said and done, the medical centers I’ve worked with are very happy they made the switch. The staff is able to communicate better, patients receive more efficient treatment (no matter where they are) and information is readily accessible.

So, EMR has a new hook – it’s green. And while when we think of green and healthcare in the same sentence we’re usually thinking costs, we can now think along more eco-friendly lines. I think from now on, I might mention to clients that not only are they doing something good for their business, they’re also doing something good for the environment. Can’t hurt, can it? Less space, less waste, more access, better care. That’s a win no matter how you look at it.

Posted by: John Cushman on May 12th, 2011 // View Comments
Posted in: Document Management and Storage, Medical, News
Tags: EHR, electronic medical records, EMR, Medical
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