Introduction of an electronic medical record system into physician practice offices: why is it so #%!&-ing hard for...

Medical practice offices are experiencing a revolutionary change in the microprocesses that have been the norm for documenting and communicating patient care for decades. While this revolution is welcome for dozens of good reasons, migration of data storage from the paper-based record to electronic form often causes considerable stress for all involved. This three-part series looks at electronic medical record implementations from organizational and sociological perspectives, and draws attention to the often unappreciated aspects of medical work that give rise to the stress. In addition, IT professionals' perspectives are also addressed to highlight how medical /IT professional differences affect the experience of implementation.