TEPR Tantrums  Gary Baldwin, for HealthLeaders News , May 25,
2007  The presentation was called "Getting Physician Buy-in."
But TEPR Conference participant Tushar Shah, MD, a partner in a
three-physician pediatric practice, wasn't buying. Shah went to
last week's event in Dallas in search of an electronic medical
record system for his small group, which is based in Abilene. He
was one of one some 200-plus people who jammed into the session,
which targeted small physician practices. So many participants
crowded the presentation that event organizers halted it
abruptly in mid-stream to move to a larger room.  They heard
Paul Schadler, MD, describe how his 11-physician practice
struggled through its EMR journey, which began five years ago.
Unlike some EMR advocates, who are basically preaching to the IT
choir, Schadler gave a warts-and-all account of his group's
experience. The EMR, he said, is a "dramatic work change" for
physicians, one that creates "more work." According to Schadler,
much of the work in the p