According to an article on APMA’s site, 60-70% of all
diabetics will deal with at least some form of nerve damage from the disease,
whether mild or severe. The conditions
they face range from impaired sensation, to foot ulcers to foot and leg amputation. With the high percentage of probability of
experiencing nerve damage, the APMA believes that routine foot care is
imperative for diabetics and those at risk for developing it.
Luckily, the use of
electronic medical records greatly improves a diabetic patient’s care
experience. EMRs specifically tailored
for the podiatry specialty use templates that focus on the feet rather than the
whole body. Podiatry EMRs feature pre-loaded
exam templates to evaluate complaints common in diabetics such as calluses,
cracked skin, numbness and poor circulation along with other symptoms
associated with diabetes. A routine basic
foot exam template keeps tabs on the prevention or progression of nerve damage
in patients’ feet. Diagnosis and
treatment information from the exams can be automatically transferred to
referral letters sent to the patient’s primary care physician or
endocrinologist.
Implementing a patient portal with an EMR solution lets
patients access their medical records from their own computer. More importantly, a portal can remind
patients to stay on their preventative exam schedule. Patients can also request their appointments
and prescription refills over the portal as well as communicate with their
podiatrist.
