Dr. Nadeem Dhanani Discovers a Powerful Tool in the Intuitive Urology EHR System, EMA®

Enhanced patient interaction and education, other benefits experienced with urology software.

Background

Dr. Nadeem Dhanani, a Texas-based urologist and Modernizing Medicine’s medical director of urology, has had extensive exposure to EHR systems and yet always felt as if something was lacking. “I’ve had quite a lot of experience with EHR systems in various settings, since after finishing my fellowship I’ve worked in academic institutions, large health care organizations and smaller practices,” he said.

“I’ve always tried to utilize the EHR technology provided. My experience ranges from simply drafting templates to serving on IT steering committees to trying to optimize large EHR systems and tailor them to departments and group practices. I have always had this sense that something was missing that made these systems more of an obstacle to overcome to treat patients, rather than a tool that facilitates and improves the patient/physician interaction at the point of care,” Dr. Dhanani explained.

“A colleague of mine introduced me to Modernizing Medicine’s EHR system, EMA™, and I learned that the company was interested in developing a urology EHR,” Dr. Dhanani said. “I participated in a demo and was absolutely blown away. It’s a paradigm shift from what we as physicians are used to and the current technology available. EMA is so intuitive and minimizes the mundane tasks of documentation. Even more, EMA allows you to capture the essential parts of a patient story, physical exam findings and the thought process that goes behind making management and treatment plans. I decided to join the Modernizing Medicine team as the medical director of urology to help develop the product for my peers who are in need of the features and benefits that EMA offers.”

Urology Content Built-In

EMA was developed just for urologists and is tailored to the way they practice. “EMA helps streamline workflows and eliminates the need to constantly reinvent the wheel. I only want to enter data once, whether it’s a certain diagnosis, physical exam finding or a procedure or plan that we want to implement. EMA eliminates the redundancy of documenting different counseling discussions and learns what your standard practices are; it adapts and implements with ease,” Dr. Dhanani explained.

“By adapting to your preferences and learning your practice patterns, EMA helps reduce the time necessary to search for diagnoses, tests, prescriptions, etc. because the data presents itself in a relevant manner to the current disease. The urology content drives the questions in the history taking, obviating the need for templates. This allows for diagnosis-specific exam findings and management plans which are truly unique.”

Helps Better Track Outcomes

EMA helps physicians track treatment outcomes, which supports the industry movement toward quality of care reporting and outcome-based reimbursement. “Another unbelievably powerful feature of EMA is the capture and use of structured data. It can look at what physicians do from an objective standpoint. That’s a truly valuable resource that you’re able to harness using EMA,” said Dr. Dhanani.

“Grand Rounds is a feature which analyzes and synthesizes the clinical data of urologists across the country. With Grand Rounds, less time is spent researching answers to clinical questions, and instead the data is provided in a clinically relevant manner. The approach of using and capturing structured data is an invaluable resource both to individual practitioners as well as to the field of urology at large for population health.”

iPad EHR Enhances Patient Interaction

“The fact that EMA runs on a native iPad application really enhances the patient/physician relationship. Having the iPad to document in real time allows you to capture the interaction while still maintaining eye contact rather than having to turn your back to the patient to type or jot down notes and then step out of the exam room to dictate or transcribe. The interpersonal relationship in an intimate setting is very powerful,” said Dr. Dhanani. “Furthermore, the iPad platform allows for improved patient education. You are able to show real time drawings on a 3D Interactive Anatomical Atlas™and capture visually what’s been conveyed in your notes then refer back to them as needed. EMA provides a visual aid to complement the verbal counseling and discussions you have with the patient.”