Scripps Clinic: in transition to the on-line medical record

The TMI system was implemented at our main campus on March 4, 1991, and at this point we are very pleased with all aspects of system performance. Since the conversion, the number of jobs dictated by our physicians has increased 20%, and we interpret this increase as an objective measure of physician satisfaction with the system. An increasing number of physicians are accessing lab results and documents from home via modem to review the next day's patients or while on-call. Transcription productivity has improved and enthusiasm for the system is high. Requests for chart documentation from our business office have decreased 60% due to the ability to access and print documents directly from the mainframe. The next phase in our information plan involves the installation of the TMI system at our regional clinics and our inpatient transcription unit. Further steps in the transition to on-line medical records, such as the conversion of 600,000 active and archived records, awaits the further development of technology in order to be feasible and cost effective. Our experience has shown that developing complex applications such as the TMI demands perseverance and a willingness to work closely with multiple vendors and products in order to identify the best options in a rapidly developing field. Extensive involvement of end users early in the planning process helped us to secure and implement a system with a high level of user acceptance and satisfaction.