At EVMS Heath Services, we are dedicated to providing you the best quality medical care available today. For instance, we pride ourselves on staying up to date on the latest and safest therapies, treatments and technology. Because your health is our highest priority, we’re always working to transform and improve the practice of medicine.

In fact, you may already have noticed some of the improvements. Our registration area has changed to accommodate new technology that allows us to serve you faster and better. The new technology— called an Electronic Health Record, or EHR—is the same system used by our physicians, nurses and other staff to improve access to your medical history and list of medications. The EHR replaces the old paper medical chart with computerized records, adding many new capabilities to improve the care you receive, such as electronic prescribing,and remote access to your medical information. Now your physician can view your secure records anytime from anywhere to safely provide afterhours or emergency care.

Additionally, our physicians can now more safely prescribe medications for you and instantly send prescriptions to the pharmacy of your choice.  Electronic prescribing is so fast and safe, that the Institute of Medicine recently recommended all physicians use it in place of  handwritten prescriptions.

The EVMS Health Services’ TouchWorks™ Electronic Health Record from Allscripts delivers several other advantages over paper-based records:

What is an Electronic Health Record?

An Electronic Health Record is just that—an electronic version of your medical record. The computerized record contains your medical and medication history and allows your provider to quickly and accurately update information, as well as view any new or previous X-rays and/or lab work. Our physicians can then access your information 24 hours a day from any computer. So not only will your doctor be able to see your “chart” if you speak to them after hours, but your record can also be securely accessed during an emergency by your physician or another authorized caregiver.

How does an EHR benefit you and your family?

Today, when you enter your physician’s office, you no longer have to wait for staff to pull your chart from a distant chart room. The nurse can pull up your health record without delay and start providing service right away. More than a repository for your medical information, the EHR alerts your caregivers whenever something might be harmful to you—for example, if you had a past allergic reaction to a particular medication in the past. The system’s alerts also warn caregivers if you’re overdue for an examination or lab work. So busy caregivers don’t have to rely on memory (theirs or yours) to provide the best possible care.

How does an EHR benefit your physician (and other caregivers)?

With electronic records, your caregiver has immediate access to your medical record, eliminating time spent tracking down paper files. Plus, caregivers can enter important notes in the electronic record with the assurance that everyone will be able to read them, and they can order and view lab tests and results from anywhere, whether they are in the exam room or the hospital. The EHR also enables your physician to send prescriptions instantly to your pharmacy, so your medication is waiting for you when you arrive. And you never have to worry that the pharmacist mis-read your physicians’ handwriting, because all information is digital.

Are Electronic Health Records safe?

Everyone from the President of the United States to the governors of many states and the Secretary of Health and Human Services has put their stamp of approval on Electronic Health Records. Our government recommends physicians use an EHR because they know it makes the entire healthcare system safer for patients, more efficient and more cost effective. At EVMS Health Services, we have always taken the greatest care to secure your health information. We believe the TouchWorks EHR makes your medical information even more secure. The system uses the very latest in computer security to ensure the safety of your information, and is fully compliant with HIPPA, the federal regulation governing health information.

We are a not-for-profit physician group that supports the mission and goals of Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) with over 150 physicians specializing in family and internal medicine, obstetrics, medical and surgical specialties as well as radiation-oncology.

All of our physicians are full-time teaching faculty at EVMS. Physicians in training (residents) and medical students are an extension of our practices. We feel that the integration of our practice with EVMS resident physicians and students enhances patient care and provides an academic advantage unique to our group.