"This Survey is based on EMR users in family medicine, a discipline that has the most templates available," said Clayton L Reynolds, MD, FACP, FACPE, endocrinologist and medical quality expert. "Praxis EMR does well in that environment, despite the large number of competing systems. Praxis also performs well in more specialized areas of medicine, where it has no serious competition because there are far fewer templates available for subspecialties."

Praxis executives said the EMR's uniqueness lies in how it uses a neural-network engine called a Concept Processor, which is designed to constantly learn from previous encounters to chart progressively faster and more effectively.

"In essence, each provider becomes his own best teacher," said Richard Low, CEO of the Infor-Med Corporation, based in Woodland Hills, Calif.

"Praxis is the only EMR not based on templates, and this is why physicians prefer it to other EMRs. Templates turn doctors into technicians, forcing them to use rigid pick-lists in order to describe complex situations. Medicine is an art and no two doctors practice the same way. By learning each physician's individual approach, Praxis EMR documents patient encounters in the physician's own words. Using this software helps doctors save time and practice better medicine," added Low.