Electronic Records Are Putting VA in Command : Advanced computer system captures data, serves clinicians, supports quality improvement efforts.

Other systems can also learn from the VA's approach to designing the system with the needs of its clinicians in mind, said Dr. Dennis Weaver, acting chief medical officer for the National Alliance for Health Information Technology. “You've got to build it for the clinicians,” he said.

But that doesn't mean just automating patient charts, Dr. Weaver said, because recreating paper processes doesn't work. Physicians and administrators who are selecting an electronic health record system need to resist the urge to “pave the cow path.” They must let clinicians know up front that the work flow is going to change.