The Edmonton Journal has this article talking about the end of the Physician Office System Program (POSP).

It is unfortunate that the political circus involving Ralph Klein’s departure has perhaps contributed to the lack of attention this program needs, so that it can be renewed or replaced with something appropriate. However, all this talk about doctors “going back to paper forms” is just plain silly, in my humble opinion. I am not saying there won’t be specific circumstances where it might happen, but I am pretty sure it is just a rally cry to get the public’s attention focused on the issue.

The doctor’s offices whom have successfully implemented electronic medical records (EMR’s) should not still be dependent on the POSP funding. Additionally, the servers and systems that make EMR’s function are likely quite intertwined with other systems that handle things like booking and billing. The staff that support EMR’s are also supporting these other systems. I just can’t see many doctors “unplugging the EMR server” as it were.

It will be interesting to see where this all leads.

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