WHEELER – Thanks to a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor, The Rinehart Clinic, a family practice medical clinic in Wheeler, will begin phasing in an electronic medical records system.

Though it may take two years to have the new system up and running at full capacity, Rob Soans, a practitioner, said the system “will allow us to have a huge impact on our ability to better care for our patients.”

Charlene Toninato, clinic manager, said staff have been studying alternatives to the medical records system many doctors’s offices still have – file cabinets filled with bulging files of hand – scribbled notes and charts.

“Our concern is for patients’ safety, prevention of medical errors, enhancement of the quality of patient care, preserving the confidentiality of our patients’ medical records, and assuring continuity of a patient’s care,” Toninato said. “But our new EMR system does all of those things – and more,” said Toninato. “It’s just wonderful.”

Practitioners will enter patient information using a small hand-held device that works much like a computer keyboard. The information includes notes on all workups and diagnoses, lab work results, as well as the results of other medical tests and examinations at other medical facilities. The EMR system will automatically look for abnormal lab work results, as well as abnormal results of other medical tests and then notify the practitioner.

The Rinehart Clinic is the successor of a medical practice reaching back to1913, when the grandfather of the clinic’s medical director established a medical practice in Wheeler. With three practitioners and a nine-person staff, the clinic’s mission is “to provide high-quality, comprehensive health care to all in our community, regardless of their financial circumstances.”