Why use an EMR?
I chose to use an EMR for the same reason most doctors choose to use an EMR. I was looking for a way to improve patient care, do billing faster, cut costs, and find a way through all that annoying paperwork.

Why Praxis EMR?
I originally started with template-based EMRs. They were easy to start with, but soon became cumbersome and difficult to use. On the other hand, Praxis is a lot like a musical instrument. I worked a little to learn it, and now using it is a pleasure. I am not a computer person, since computers were offered only as a research project when I went to school. Because of its Concept Processor technology, Praxis learns your practice patterns and improves over time, becoming faster and more knowledgeable.

How well are your patient visits automated?
My comprehensive OB histories, and follow-ups are all completely automated.

Praxis paid for itself in less than a year.. Because of Praxis my billing has improved tremendously..

Approximately how long did it take you to recover your investment?

“Praxis paid for itself in less than a year, and has now paid for itself over and over again!.... It makes my patient visits faster and helps reduce my liability.”

Because of Praxis my billing has improved tremendously. I can now bill consistently at optimum E & M level whereas in the past I would poorly document a hand written page and felt I could not defend billing out a level 4. Now I can produce 3 pages in less than a minute, faster than a transcriptionist, and the only problem my printer is too slow. This allows me to spend more time with my patients and for that matter my family. And, when my charts are reviewed I can easily justify the higher billing codes and increased earnings. I only chart the abnormal findings and never waste my time on normal findings.

“One of the main reasons to never use templates is that they can be subpoenaed in court and the virtual patient cannot.”

Also, medical-legal speaking, my charting has improved with the Praxis system. One of the main reasons to never use templates is that they can be subpoenaed in court and the virtual patient cannot. So if you do a different treatment plan not as per your template and this comes out in deposition the template EMR can work against you.

One aspect that has not been mentioned is that Praxis as a company is uniquely doctor friendly. When I contact the CEO, Dr. Richard Low, I always receive a personal e-mail from him. At times he has called my office to see how I am doing with PRAXIS. At the last PRAXIS convention in Las Vegas he actually flew in and taught the advanced course. During the course there was an information exchange with the advanced users and he considered all their suggestions. From these courses he states he learns more then what he teaches. Yesterday he gave a webinar for close to 2 hours with an expert PRAXIS user on clinical practice guidelines, health maintenance, data mining, Datum, and the 5.0 version. Meeting Dr. Low I find he has a passion and enthusiasm for PRAXIS as some of us have for medicine."

What is your Overall Satisfaction with Praxis?
Praxis EMR is the greatest asset that my practice has, besides me of course! I call it my “personal neural network.” It’s incredibly plastic and flexible and can do any task I put it to.

What other features of Praxis EMR has your specialized practice benefited from?
I love to use Praxis as a way to store lecture notes! Whenever I attend an OB/GYN conference and learn a new treatment or approach, instead of writing down monotonous notes, I simply record everything in Praxis. This creates a virtual patient that I can use as a reference in guiding my practice in the future. A patient comes in and I cannot recall a treatment plan. I go to the SOAP note and I place the name of antibiotics (or any other key point) in the system. It recalls every virtual patient linked to that medication. I then click on that virtual patient I want and make a few changes and in less than a minute the case is done.

“To find the ideal EMR is like looking for the Holy Grail you will never find it! There is no perfect EMR and they all have some problems and I have looked at many.”

Please include your thoughts on what Praxis means to you.
Praxis is basically my second brain! It’s flexibility allows me to accomplish things I never would have dreamed of with my previous EMRs.

To find the ideal EMR is like looking for the Holy Grail you will never find it! There is no perfect EMR and they all have some problems and I have looked at many. The Praxis system has paid for itself when compared to paying for transcription and nurse charting labor in less that a year (at 2001 price when I bought it). The more you use PRAXIS the speed of the program accelerates as it learns your thought patterns and I call it my personal neural network.

“PRAXIS self learns your practice patterns and improves with time.”

Learning PRAXIS is similar to playing a musical instrument; difficult at first then it becomes a pleasure. At first I had frustration with PRAXIS but it is well worth the time spent. I am not a computer geek, having done my math and chemistry courses in college with a slide rule and computers were offered as a research project back then. I started with an online trainer (Kathy formerly a medical transcriptionist) and she was my guide and guru. The program has a Conceptual processor (not templates) which is extremely flexible, quick and this makes PRAXIS unique when compared to all other EMR’s. Having used templates before it is an easy start but as the data is placed in the template EMR it becomes cumbersome, slower and more difficult to use. PRAXIS self learns your practice patterns and improves with time. After 8 years of using PRAXIS I still make daily micro improvements to my knowledge base as medicine changes. I am so incredibly grateful to have found Praxis, and have been a satisfied customer ever since.