What You Should Know
- eClinicalWorks, one of the largest ambulatory cloud EHRs in the nation, has announced production support for the CMS’s Kill the Clipboard initiative to enable paperless patient intake at scale.
- When the patient arrives at the clinic, the provider simply scans the QR code using the eClinicalMobile app. The patient’s verified medical records instantly populate into the eClinicalWorks EHR at the point of care.
How eClinicalWorks is Using QR Codes to Digitize Patient Intake
It is one of the most frustrating paradoxes in modern healthcare: A hospital can utilize cutting-edge, AI-powered robotics to perform a minimally invasive surgery, yet the patient is still handed a wooden clipboard and a ballpoint pen in the waiting room to fill out their medical history.
Manual patient intake is not just an annoying consumer experience; it is a massive clinical liability. When patients are forced to write down their complex medication lists from memory, errors are inevitable. When front-desk staff have to manually transcribe those handwritten forms into the Electronic Health Record (EHR), those errors multiply.
eClinicalWorks has essentially turned the patient’s medical history into a digital boarding pass. Prior to their appointment, patients use a secure app to verify their identity. The app securely pulls their medical records from available interoperability networks and generates a smart health QR code on their smartphone. When the patient walks up to the front desk, the provider simply scans the code using the eClinicalMobile app. The data instantly populates into the EHR. No paper, no transcription, and no guessing how to spell the name of a complex prescription drug.
“It’s going to be helpful for every aspect of seeing new patients,” noted Dr. Bradley Block, a family medicine physician currently utilizing the tech. “We’re now receiving the most accurate and complete medical information on new patients, directly provided by the patient, so we can provide the most optimal care.”
