AMA offers online CME to help with health IT

The American Medical Association has released three online tutorials aimed at helping physicians implement health information technology into their practices.

The tutorials include videos, downloadable tools and best practices for health IT in a physician practice. They are being offered when many doctors are looking at technology for the first time because of federal incentive programs aimed at increasing physician adoption and use of health IT tools.

Each seven- to 10-minute tutorial is focused on understanding workflow and what changes to expect with new technologies.

The three tutorials offered are:

E-prescribing. This series will explain the benefits of electronic prescribing and the quality, safety and efficacy compared with paper prescribing. The series identifies opportunities to improve medication management and efficiencies through e-prescribing.

Pre-visit planning. This tutorial will help physicians implement technology that provides full patient information before a visit. Benefits, including reduced waiting times and improved efficiencies, will be explained.

Point-of-care documentation. This will guide doctors in making decisions about the hardware used during an office exam. It also will explain the information that should be collected during an exam, as well as the format used to document it.

The AMA said the tutorials will explain the best ways to implement new technology.

"Physician practices may need to redesign and reorganize their office routines so that they can successfully and efficiently adopt health IT," said AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD.

The CME-accredited tutorials are free. They are an addition to the AMA's library of CME-accredited tutorials, including those launched in May 2011 aimed at helping physicians earn incentives for e-prescribing and meaningful use of EMRs.