Analysis Of Electronic Health Record ( Ehr ) System

This case analysis of Stanford’s Hospital and Clinics (SHC) electronic medical record (EMR) system implementation will focus on how the healthcare organization focused on resolving a problem to meet regulatory pressures and responded to an opportunity to create operational efficiency, by capitalizing on the use of information technology to help reduce costs. We will discuss the organization’s IT problems, opportunities, and the alternatives available to address each. We will summarize an analysis of potential alternatives including the organization’s EMR system of choice and conclude with a recommendation to the Board on how to rollout the new system.

Over the past few years, we have notice a significant change in the workflow of a healthcare organization. This change is caused by the technological advancements of Health Information Technology (HIT). One of the many technological advancements of HIT is the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Electronic health records are a patient’s paper chart in a digital format. It always contains real time information and can be easily accessible. With EHR put into act, it has the ability to electronically view and share a patient’s medical history, past and current medications, immunization dates, any diagnoses or allergies, as well as testing and lab reports. It is also used to document and store data, in addition with many more abilities. It is important to understand the purpose, application, challenges, and advantages of an electronic heath record. In order to get a greater understanding of its use, we will use a private family medicine practice as the foundation for implementing the EHR.

The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize the literature on the pros and cons of electronic health record systems. This paper describes the many benefits of electronic health record systems, which include but are not limited to, less paperwork, increased quality of care, financial incentives, and increased efficiency and productivity. Organizational outcomes and societal benefits are also addressed. Despite the tremendous amount of benefits, studies in the literature highlight potential disadvantages of electronic health record systems. These disadvantages include privacy and security concerns, identity theft, data loss, financial issues, and changes in workflow, involving a temporary loss of productivity. Preventative measures that can be taken are addressed as well. Overall, people believe that the benefits of electronic health records can be realized when they are used correctly, and proper measures are taken to reduce any potential drawbacks.

The American health care system is in the midst of a paradigm shift as it transitions away from a paper documentation system towards a total electronic world. The electronic health record is revolutionizing the way health care practitioners, organizations and patients utilize patient information resulting in more efficient and accurate care, which implies better patient outcomes. In an effort to expedite the adoption of the electronic medical record, the United States government implemented an act entitled Meaningful Use which outlines three stages required by all health care systems and providers. The United States government provided financial incentives to ensure that these stages were met. It is imperative that the health care leaders are familiar with the requirements of Meaningful Use and create a timeline to ensure meeting all expectations. This paper will address the history of meaningful use implementation, meaningful use goals, and careful considerations for the health care leaders.

In efforts to reform the United States healthcare system and create a nationally unified data exchange system the federal government has established an incentive program to eligible professionals and hospitals. The federal government has turned to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to help facilitate the process of broadening health IT infrastructures. The federal government views EHR system used in meaningful ways as the key to reforming the healthcare systems. Meaningful use of the EHR systems can also improve the overall quality of healthcare, insure patient safety, as well as reduce the cost of healthcare to individuals (Bigalke & Morris, 2010, p. 116).

Technology has come a long way over the years and continues to advance rapidly. The health care system is greatly affected by the advancements in technology. An example of this would be the use of electronic health records (EHR). In this paper I will be describing the electronic health record system. How my facility has initiated the EHR with following the six steps and describe meaningful use and how my facility is working towards this. Lastly I will discuss how to maintain patient confidentiality with use of EHR, and what my facility is doing to prevent HIPPA violations.

The expense of implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) will be one of the most costly expenses a healthcare organization will encounter regardless of the size of the organization. The organization will face many ethical and legal challenges with the implementation of EMR and depending on the size of the organization may experience many organizational issues as well. The Affordable Care Act is pushing for national EMR implementation. In order to accomplish goal, it will be necessary to work through the many ethical, legal, and organizational challenges healthcare systems will face implementing EMR.

Therefore, several authors share some of the same ideas as to what some of the barriers faced during the transition to Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and if these barriers still exist once the transition to a full EHR system is complete. Herrick, et al., 2010, states that currently, there is no hard-core evidence to support the argument that Electronic Health Record (EHRs) and Health Information Technology is the best route for health organizations to prevent errors. In fact, the use of such technology could potentially lead to errors if information incorrectly entered in the system and Haupt, 2011, statement that smart software could help to prevent life-threatening errors better when administering medicines. Whereas, Boonstra & Broekhuis, 2010, states from a physician point a view need the understanding of the possible barriers that faced during implementation of EHRs because there a tremendous amount of literature on the obstacles but no suggestion on how to resolve these barriers have not been viewed. Barriers such as, financial on great startup and ongoing cost, technical and time to train staff and how much knowledge do they have with computer skills and psychological when support needed from vendors, etc. It suggests that once those barriers have been ironed out and a plan has set in place, then the transition from paper documentation to Electronic Health Records (EHRs) may go a lot easier for the healthcare arena physician, nurses and administrative

The health IT system is essential to transform the delivery of health care. Innovation within the IT system includes efficient data use through warehouses as they expand health information, which allows for big improvements in the technological use. These improvements would ensure that data user safety will allow the smooth exchange of information transfer electronically between different health care providers. In this case, most hospital employees and health care organizations understand how the health information technology (IT) is important for the HCO’s functions. The passing of “the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation in 2009, with its specific attention to advancing EHRs, federal dollars are dedicated to expanding EHR use in physician offices and more” (Abdelhak pg. 180). This shows that a federal government has an ability to change in the healthcare industry, so the government should incorporate science and technology development. The private sector and government funding resources will also have a significant impact to play a great role in the exploration of new software operations in terms of advancing the technological environment. Advancing this area of the organization encourages health Information

Most hospitals, medical practices across the United States are transitioning to electronic health care record system to improve quality measures and manage the number of patients they can generate, retrieve, and accumulate. However, the ambulatory care providers usually don’t use EHR technology to the full extent of its power because it associates barriers that stand in the way of changing medical practices. In this case, the EHR will also examine some of the advantages and disadvantages while medical practitioners make their decision. In ambulatory care, there are many advantages of using electronic medical records, such as increasing the cyber security level and privacy safety, eliminating medical errors, and improving the quality of care.

After the first session of the American College of Medical Informatics 2004 retreat, during which the history of electronic health records was reviewed, the second session served as a forum for discussion about the state of the art of EHR adoption. Adoption and diffusion rates for both inpatient and outpatient EHRs are low for a myriad of reasons ranging from personal physician concerns about workflow to broad environmental issues. Initial recommendations for addressing these issues include providing communication and education to both providers and

Electronic Health Records have enhanced how information is stored and transmitted in the healthcare setting. They are a safe and much more secure way of maintaining records. In addition to security, it speeds up service times for patients and records can be transported through the click of a mouse. EHRs are now mandatory as a directive set by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and all healthcare organizations must conform or face a heavy penalty (EHR adoption, 2011). Despite the fact that many organizations do not like change, there are some positive outcomes that could occur if an organization switches from the “old” way of doing things to a new EHR system. By implementing an EHR system, an organization could see more money to the bottom line. Many organizations have been noticing that EHRs are allowing them to become more efficient and they have seen business grow in recent years. Dr. Larry Garber a physician and medical director for informatics at Worcester, Mass based Reliant Medical group said” The $24 million EHR investment was worth every penny, the medical group has seen return on investment, big revenue boosts and a huge increase in compliance and clinical results. (McCann, 2013). EHRs can be designed by the individual organization. They don’t have to come in a one size fit all category. Dr. Gerber spoke about his practice designing an EHR feature for radiologist that allowed them to correct the percentage of incorrectly ordered

Healthcare today is impacted by technology and it is changing the way that we communicate and record the healthcare that is to be delivered by clinicians. Paper charting is in the past and almost obsolete due to the advanced technical equipment and computer technology that is available today. In this paper the background of using electronic health records (EHR) will be discussed as well as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and how the privacy and security of EHR for patients are being maintained. An overview of EHR policies will be discussed also along with the ongoing evaluation of healthcare technology use and how it is being measured by organizations, payers and governmental agencies.

Electronic medical records have been around for more than 30 years, but since 2010 they have become widely adopted throughout the healthcare industry. Electronic health records (EHRs) are comprised of many components that work together to “automates access to information and has the potential to streamline the clinician's workflow” (“Electronic Health Record,” 2012). The system allows more efficient and accurate patient care while reducing costs in the long term for healthcare practices. Small healthcare practices have moved slowly in adopting electronic health record (EHRs) systems for their practices, their lack of readiness will cause the organizations problems in transitioning to the implementation of EHRs. This research paper will

Health information systems must work for those that are at the point of service. This is because they are the first point of contact and the face of the health care system. These individuals are usually doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists who are providing patient care and need to maintain patient trust. Patient who seeks medical advice trust that treatment decisions made from providers consists of quality and care. By using electronic health records, provider communication will increase and medical errors will be reduced due to the ease of use. However, among these advantages, complications such as user resistance, cost and patient safety continues to challenge electronic health record implementations and further delay its use.