Primaris Press Release
| For immediate release: June 19, 2008 |
Contact: Matt Heger Primaris Communications Department (800) 735-6776, Ext. 136 |
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Dr. Gregg Laiben presents the Primaris Physician Office Quality Award to Dr. Alan J. Scharrer of Grain Valley Family Practice on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. Photo credit: Scott Barth
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Digital doctor honored in Grain Valley
Dr. Alan Scharrer receives Primaris Physician Office Quality Award
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. — Dr. Alan J. Scharrer does not claim to be a technical wizard.
“The only class I dropped out of in high school was typing,” he said. “Who knew it would be so important?”
And yet, this small-town doctor is leading his peers, using computers to improve how family doctors provide health care. While most doctors are still using paper charts, for more than a year, Dr. Scharrer has used a keyboard and touch-screen.
Using this new method, Dr. Scharrer knows how his patients are doing today, and can also see how they are doing over time. Or he can examine the care of entire groups of patients, all with a few clicks of a mouse.
In honor of his achievements, Dr. Scharrer has been awarded the Primaris Physician Office Quality Award. This prestigious award is given by Primaris, a nonprofit firm dedicated to improving health care in Missouri.
The honor is bestowed upon a single doctor or practice in Missouri each year. The Primaris Physician Office Quality Award is designed to publicly acknowledge high performance and a strong commitment to improving health care.
After 20 years of providing care the old-fashioned way, Dr. Scharrer stopped using paper charts to record the health of his patients. Instead, he began using high-tech computer tablets backed up by software that makes it easier to track a patients history.
It took some getting used to for this self-proclaimed “old-school” doctor and even for some patients, he said. Bringing in a sophisticated tablet into an exam room turns heads. But patients generally relax after seeing how the tablet helps him do his job.
“Now I can show them a graph of their weight loss or a visual of their blood pressure,” said Dr. Scharrer. “Even patients in their 20s who grew up with this kind of technology find it amazing.”
Electronic health records are the computer age’s answer to paper charts. They allow physicians to quickly and accurately recall information about their patients and are touted for their ability to save physicians both time and money.
While most physicians have yet to add electronic records to their practice, Dr. Scharrer is ahead of the game, not only because he is using the system before most other doctors, but because he is using its advanced features.
“Even when they get these electronic systems, some doctors never take full advantage of their capabilities. It would be like a writer buying word processing software, but never using the spell-check features. Dr. Scharrer’s use, however, shows the potential that others are missing,” said Richard A. Royer, Primaris CEO.
The Primaris Physician Office Quality Award was presented to Dr. Scharrer on Wednesday, June 18, at his office in Grain Valley, Mo.
About Primaris
Primaris is a nonprofit, health care consulting firm and contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to serve as the Quality Improvement Organization for Missouri. Primaris’ mission is to improve health care delivery and outcomes by promoting excellence, advancing knowledge and developing innovative solutions for physicians, other providers, businesses, government, patients and consumers.
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