Whitson Lowe Jr., MD, of Urology Associates believes that group practice's switch to paperless electronic health records should improve patient care. But for now, the resulting new way of documenting patient encounters has produced painful side effects, including longer work hours, lower productivity, reduced revenue and higher labor costs. That has made for a less-than-seamless transition to a digital doctor's office despite the availability of federal funds to reimburse doctors and other providers for "meaningful use" of health information technology.
