If you have been putting off implementing an EMR system, there's never been a more opportune time to go digital. The U.S Government is offering payments of up to $44,000, per Medicare provider, to make the switch. The incentives are even higher for Medicaid. It's all part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In order to maximize your benefits, you must start receiving payments no later than 2011.

The right EMR solution can only enable you to run your practice more efficiently. In order to actually realize this goal you need to employ charismatic, effective leadership. Help your staff rewrite more effective patient processing procedures. Give your patients a tech demo. These methods will help you bolster the new techniques and attitudes you need to have in order to maximize your potential and really benefit from EMR adoption. Once your office gets comfortable with these tools, your receptionist will spend less time scheduling appointments, you will have lab results automatically imported into a chart without tying up fax lines, and sign-off on your chart with time to spare.