Dear patients and friends, Seaport Family Practice has decided to adopt new EHR (electronic health record) software. We have signed a contract with athenahealth, an international corporation with offices in Belfast, Maine! Our anticipated start date is May 1. There are several advantages to athenahealth, the most important of which is its local presence. This will allow us to receive support and updates quickly, something that has frustrated us with our current system.
Some of the notable improvements in athenahealth software over our current system are the following: your ability to complete the medical history on-line, schedule or cancel appointments on-line, pay bills on-line, receive account statements more quickly, and reconcile your medication list with the pharmacy automatically.
No EHR on February 8thOn February 8th, 2012, our current system will be "down" for the day. We will still see patients the old-fashioned way (using paper notes). Only a limited number of same-day appointments will be available, so please call for routine appointments on the day before or after Wednesday, February 8th. Thank you for your patience and consideration.
Old Records
Many of you have copies of your old medical records stored in our basement. We will soon begin shredding records that are older than 10 years unless you want them back. (No state law governs the length of time that records should be kept, but 10 years is often recommended).
Over the next few months, you will receive a letter from us if you are one of the patients with paper records older than 10 years. If you want them back, please let us know within 30 days of receipt of the letter. Seaport Family Practice has kept health records electronically since 2000, and we will continue to store this data.
David Loxterkamp, M.D. Medical DirectorSeaport Family Practice, P.A.
