EMR Apps Taking Off, Starting with Refill Requests

Healthfinch's rules-based engine, configurable by the Healthfinch staff in collaboration with customers such as Elmurst, automates the decision-making and offloads it from doctors.

When I first heard of this concept, I figured there might always be some super-cautious, belt-and-suspenders type physicians who would still insist on checking every detail.

"First of all, the protocols that Lyle presented to us initially were very conservative, and correctly so," Lurye says. "In fact, in his own personal use, he was still looking at every refill request. He just wanted to see, 'Okay, these are the things I think can be done automated. Now let's see if I actually agree with myself.' And we did the same thing here. And we've kept it fairly conservative. So that's one answer.

"And again, if we ever needed to they're fairly easy to adjust."

As for the rest of the care team, "it really makes them feel much more like participants," Lurye says. Refill requests can be "opportunities for patient education and encouraging people to come back in for necessary care."

Deployed initially in primary care, the Healthfinch service will find its way into Elmhurst's specialty practices, Lurye says.

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