Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/45928
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT +++ +++ the many ingredients that must come together in a persuasive argument. But in the demanding context of the healthcare profession, evidence is everything. Which is perhaps why an article published recently in a major medical journal may one day be recognized as marking a significant developmental milestone in the bur- geoning fi eld of electronic health record From Promise to Practice: IN EVERYDAY LIFE, CITING evidence of an assertion's veracity is general ly regarded as just one of (EHR)-enabled medical practice — it could well represent that moment in time when the primary focus of both the medical and patient communities fi rst began moving from health information technology's fi gurative nuts and bolts to specifi c examples of what experienced clinicians and motivated patients can actually accomplish when they use EHR technology in cooperative, innovative ways. Until quite recently, if you asked even the most authoritative participants in our nation's ongoing healthcare conversation A RECENTLY PUBLISHED EHR TECHNOLOGY-RELATED STUDY FEATURES NORTHEAST OHIO PROVIDERS AND PATIENTS to describe the benefi ts an integrated EHR could potentially deliver to a private physi- cian practice, the answer you received would most likely focus more on the "potential" than on the "benefi ts." And while such anticipated improvements as increased workfl ow effi ciencies, reduced administrative costs, and improved physician/patient relationships centered around effectively and securely sharing accurate and timely information are obviously worthwhile, one issue almost invariably assumed a central role as argu- ably the greatest single barrier preventing "Ohio's physician community is composed of some of the most forward-thinking medical professionals in the world. When I see physicians in private practice using electronic health record tools to securely access patient data in their offi ce and in their hospital of choice, I see medical professionals who clearly understand that what technology does best is connect the clinician to the accurate, organized information they need to do what they do best, which is making the best treatment decisions they can with, and for, their patients." Tarek Elsawy, MD, Medical Director Cleveland Clinic Quality Alliance