Hospital says more than EMR in dispute

Hospital says more than EMR in dispute

Memorial Health System in Springfield, IL, provides this statement regarding the physician who claims he was placed on leave for failing to adequately adapt to the system's new electronic medical record (EMR):

Steven Kottemann, MD, has been on a paid leave of absence since Sept. 16 from Family Medical Center of Lincoln. Prior to that, clinical and administrative leadership at Family Medical Center had been working with Dr. Kottemann for several months to address mutual concerns regarding his medical practice. Those mutual concerns were not limited to computer use for patient health records. They extended to other matters regarding safe, high-quality care. Our health system's network of physician practices includes nearly 70 physicians and 20 nurse practitioners. There has been no other instance of a provider having difficulty making a transition to our electronic health record. We will decline to elaborate further on the circumstances surrounding Dr. Kottemann's medical practice. Some situations, such as those associated with Dr. Kottemann, must be treated confidentially.