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Dr. Joseph C. Noreika Experiences Ongoing Cost Savings

Practice Profile

Dr. Joseph C. Noreika
Ophthalmology, Optometry, Opticianry
ChartLogic EMR user since April 2003
2 Physicians
1 Location
7 Technicians
8 Workstations
Practice founded in 1984
100% of notes completed with
ChartLogic® Precision Voice™

Finding The Solution

Joseph C. Noreika, M.D. began his quest for an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system with a list of stringent requirements. Not only was Dr. Noreika looking for security and compliance with HIPAA, Medicare and insurance companies, he wanted to enhance his patient care, communicate better with referral doctors, improve his overall patient record management and provide a return on his investment.

After an extensive search, Dr. Noreika chose to implement ChartLogic EMR. He found the system to be well-designed and that it utilized Precision Voice™ technology, which allows him the ability to multi-task. He felt comfortable with Precision Voice™ immediately; this was a key factor in enabling him to meet his requirements. In addition, his decision was based on his strong belief that ChartLogic EMR will become the dominant system in vision care. Dr. Noreika's practice was operational in three days and proficient within weeks upon completing what he described as a "well thought out training process providing close cooperation between sales and technical staff and the right balance between hand holding and self learning."

Better Patient Care

Since the implementation of ChartLogic EMR, Dr. Noreika has seen definite enhancements in patient care. He largely credits his ability to eliminate repetition of patient encounters in his practice by using Precision Voice™ technology. He believes features such as SmartText™, Diagnosis Director™, and an expansive library of templates are time savers for the physician and improve the quality of care. He dictates his notes while examining his patients, and then checks and saves the note before the patient leaves the room. "By dictating in real time without the need to write any documentation, I can spend more time with the patient and build a true relationship that goes beyond the encounter. In a small, tightly knit community, this is very important," Dr. Noreika explained. His patients are better served because of the educational information they receive, while the reports provided to referral physicians permit better coordination of care. He believes that patient educational materials and referral doctor information are very powerful. "A patient asked me why more doctors don't do this. My answer was that they will... or they won't be practicing."

Bottom Line Results

ChartLogic provided a flexible system that incorporated the uniqueness of Dr. Noreika's practice at a competitive price point. "We set a goal to reduce our dependence on transcription by utilizing the 80:20 rule. We exceeded our expectations by using ChartLogic EMR to perform 85 percent of our transcription." The clerical staff is satisfied with ChartLogic EMR because of their immediate accessibility to charts. When asked if he was more confident in the accuracy of his documentation by using ChartLogic EMR, Dr. Noreika replied, "Definitely. First of all, it is legible. There is far less opportunity for drug errors or other therapeutic mistakes. The availability of the chart 24/7 also reduces the risk of avoidable error."

The cost savings Dr. Noreika's practice has experienced are ongoing. They will use their increased margins as working capital to take advantage of innovations that enhance practice revenue and the quality of patient care. "We work smarter, not harder," said Dr. Noreika.

"A patient asked me why more doctors don't do this. My answer was that they will... or they won't be practicing."

Dr. Joseph C. Noreika