Weathering the storms with reliable, accessible EHR technology
October 8-12, 2018 is National Health IT week. The goal of National Health IT week is to catalyze actionable change within the U.S. health system through the application of information and technology and this year, one of the focus areas is demonstrating how the power of information and technology can transform healthcare in the United States. By offering a completely cloud-based EHR platform tailored to small practices, Practice Fusion has been fortunate to see how healthcare technology has transformed the communities where its customers live and work in many positive ways. This transformation includes supporting local patients and communities in times of crisis such as natural disasters, which have brought chaos to many parts of the United States over the last several years.
In the summer of 2017, Hurricane Harvey was building strength in the Gulf of Mexico and many of the residents of cities on the east Texas coastline were preparing for heavy winds and flooding. In some communities, evacuating the area was the best option and that was the decision made by Dr. Mark Lisch, a podiatrist from Victoria, Texas. As a result of the impending hurricane, Dr. Lisch evacuated his office space and travelled 250 miles from his town to a safer location. Despite this, he was still able to run his practice just by going online and logging into the Practice Fusion EHR platform. The cloud-based accessibility of the Practice Fusion EHR made it possible for him to access patients’ charts and refill prescriptions remotely, ensuring that no patient would be without the care they needed. Dr. Lisch stated, “Even with the storm I didn’t have to worry about the integrity of my server.” Even after returning to his office when there were occasional times without power, Dr. Lisch stated that his staff simply used mobile phones as hotspots and were able to keep the practice up and running.
Practice Fusion supports National Health IT week and is proud to offer healthcare providers an EHR platform that is accessible, easy to use and reliable. We take pride in our doctors and their practices and experiences and support their continuous efforts to improve the field of medicine.