One of the most important recent healthcare reform changes is to the way healthcare providers approach EHR, or Electronic Health Records.

Every patient has an EHR. It is a detailed record of all sorts of health and treatment data, meant to prevent mistakes and save lives. Each EHR, along with similar paperwork requirements like The Physician Quality Recording System (PQRS) must be completed before a patient can be seen by a physician.

And while this digital bookkeeping may create a more thorough record of care, it's adding a lot of wait time in many practices.

This causes headaches for healthcare providers and their patients - many of whom don't even know what an EHR is. And while no one objects to rigorous recordkeeping, some physicians are calling for a more efficient process. Paperwork deemed irrelevant only contributes to longer waits for patients, already taking time out of their busy lives to seek care.

Upcoming updates to Medicare's payment and quality measures will only mean more data requirements. It's important for healthcare lawmakers to create accountability requirements that can be performed without sacrificing quality and timely care.

Read full article at Diagnostic Imaging.