Unfortunately there is no specific answer. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages. Your decision will likely depend on a number of factors, like size of practice, number of patients, your initial budget and the type of service you wish to provide. Let us explore the advantages and disadvantages associated with each model.
The Web based system is a remotely hosted electronic medical system accessed via an internet web browser. Such systems are accessed by paying a rental or monthly access fee. Even though the initial investment is relatively much lower, when we consider the never ending monthly fees (access fees), over the long term, it turns out to be more expensive. The server on which the application is hosted is secure and HIPAA compliant and is located outside the Practice. All technical aspects of the server like, maintenance, backups etc. are maintained by a professional IT company. Another major advantage is that most of the computing is done on the remote server and because of this, the requirements of “onsite hardware” is greatly reduced. This kind of a setup allows the physician to access all information at any time from anyplace with Internet access.
This system however suffers from a number of shortcomings, as the application is installed on a remote server and accessed by a number of users, there is a limit on the customizability that may be required by a practice. Another major disadvantage is that by virtue of the fact that the EMR is a point and click intensive application , a lot of vital time is lost waiting for the data to transfer over the internet, all these vital seconds can add up to a lot of time thereby reducing the total number of patients that could have been seen. Another disadvantage is that the confidential information of the patients and other details will have to be left at the mercy of the vendor. Keeping periodic back ups of data is a very important aspect of using these systems. Some of the better vendors do this as part of their services.
The client / Server model allows for a much faster response time as data from the server to the client is transferred much faster usually at 100 Mbits/second. Client / Server systems also allow a practice to have complete control over its data. This allows the practice to directly make arrangements of backup with out having to get in touch with a vendor.
The disadvantages are that initial costs are high as “onsite hardware” requirements are more. The initial cost of the application is also high. Maintenance of the server has to be carried out by the practice and this adds to the resource requirements. To sum up if the practice has multiple locations then it makes sense to go for a web based Electronic medical records system. On the other hand, if the practice doesn’t have multiple locations and the performance requirements are rather high, then it is advisable to opt for a client / server system.
|
