I Found Cancer Earlier

Jennifer Brull, M.D., is a family physician in the rural town of Plainville, KS. Her EHR has allowed Dr. Brull to track quality measures to make sure that patients are getting the right screenings when they need it. Here is Dr. Brull’s story.

 I am a family physician in a very small community. The population of the county is about 5,000; the town is less than 2,000. I practice by myself, but I have two other colleagues who also have solo practices and we collaborate, sharing staff and equipment. My patients range in age from newborns to 101. I have one five-generation family, and it is so much fun to know the whole family pattern and how that works with each other and their health – and how exciting a new grandchild is.

Preventive health is really important to me. With the EHR, I know that I am providing better quality of care to more of my patients.

Preventative Health Measures Rise with EHR

The first time I ran my numbers, my rate for colon cancer screenings was 37 percent, which is horrible. So we figured out why the rates weren’t better. Then, we started redesigning the way that we do things, and we put a reminder in the EHR that automatically notifies me [if someone has not had the test]. I am not perfect now, but I’m at about 81 percent, which is a lot better than 37 percent. I found colon cancer early in three patients – so early that the patients did not even have to have chemotherapy or radiation. For those people, it was a huge difference.

The EHR allowed me to develop a workflow and a process that means we look at everything that is important every time a patient comes in. Even if a patient comes in with just a nose bleed, I am still seeing if their tetanus is up to date. The EHR also helps me have the answers to questions: Have you had your flu vaccine this year? Have you had colon cancer screening? Did you have your mammogram?

Our pneumococcal vaccination rate is about 96 percent, and the 4 percent includes patients that do not want it. Our mammogram rate is 99 percent. The quality of care and knowing I am giving better care to my patients are two of the biggest benefits of EHRs.