EMR Implementation in Small Independent Practices Essay

SHC mission was to care, to educate, and to discover for the benefit of patients and larger community. Multiple problems and opportunities were present within the organization’s IT infrastructure that needed to be resolved before implementing an EMR system. The case stated, “In the early 2000s, SHC was in no shape to support an EMR system comparable to other healthcare groups” (Denend & Zenios, 2010). They needed to fix their existing IT infrastructure in order to resolve network, security, and regulatory compliance (HIPPA) issues. After addressing these concerns, they could focus on a solution for an EMR system. The strategic motivation behind implementing an EMR system was to reduce cost, meet competitive (internal and external) pressures, improve

Health Information Technology has increased efficiency; medical breakthroughs have increased life expectancy, cures, and improved preventive care. Benefits of EMR’s are the opportunities for improving health care efficiency, safety, health benefits and net savings, reducing hospital lengths of stay, nurse’s administrative time drug usage in hospitals and drug and radiology usage in the outpatient setting (Takvorian,2007). EMR’s will assist with research and quality improvement leading to rapid advancement in personalized medicine. It helps patients become more involved in their care (Takvorian, 2007).

The potential for Electronic Medical Records (EMR) to transform healthcare making it more accurate, efficient and cost-effective is significant. Studies indicate that the most common workflows and processes that EMR systems are used for automating can save a healthcare provider up to 67% of the total costs of correcting error-filled reports and minimizing the costs of malpractice insurance as a result (Walker, 2005). The best and most significant Return on Investment (ROI) of all however are the significant gains made in patients' recovery time and effectiveness of treatment programs (Darr, Harrison, Shakked, Shalom, 2003). Between the cost reductions made possible through effective use of EMR systems and the ROI of saving lives, the collection of these technologies, systems and processes show significant potential in streamlining patient-based workflows while increasing the quality of care (Richards, Prybutok, Ryan, 2012).

EMR implementation functioned as a means to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient care. “A systematic review of electronic records in hospital settings showed evidence of cost reduction for a little improvement in treatment quality; Consumers with serious chronic diseases, disabilities, and multiple healthcare problems may experience direct benefits from PHRs”

The electronic medical record (EMR) is a technological tool that was created for the “long term collection of medical information about patients and populations” (Gunter & Terry, 2005). EMR’s can be established, collected, managed, and referred too by authorized personnel” (Gunter & Terry, 2005). According to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) (2015) you can use EMR’s to “collect demographics, medical history, immunizations, problems/diagnosis, medications, vital signs, laboratory data, radiology reports, progress notes and other relevant patient information/data”.

According to Edward P. Ambinder, MD (2005) The American health care system is preparing for transition into the Information Age, much like other institutions such as financial, supermarkets, airlines and most manufacturing industries. Ambinder says that this transition will facilitate the widespread and universally accepted use of electronic medical records (EMRs), electronic health records (EHRs) and personal health records (PHRs). Before discussing why EMRs should be used, one must first understand what it is and what its functions are.

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are used throughout the hospital where I work. An EMR has led to many improvements in having access to medical records, in a timely manner. When a patient registers in the Emergency Department, I can see how many visits they have had. I can see all records, including past medical problems, allergies, test results, and a list of current medications they have filled at a Pharmacy. This is very useful when the patient omits information. It only takes a few steps to input protocols. An EMR decreases the risk of losing information or having to wait on records from the Medical Records Department. Additionally, the EMR allows Physicians to easily compare lab values from different visits and track a trend. EMR’s have become a valuable tool in Healthcare.

The new health system will institute a national Electronic Medical Record (EMR). By allowing the EMR system to cross reference through out the nation we will have better care and availability of records will not slow this process down. In today’s health care environment there are several systems collecting and managing patient records. By standardizing this system we will be able to provide

are merely interjected into traditional outpatient workflows. This system helps in disease management and preventive services. It provides very vital information like patients without an exam for certain time, patient with certain levels BP, patients who are taking a certain class of medication, patients who are suffering from a certain type of disease, screening and immunization information, Lab tests Results, etc. This is a complete DB driven system and user can create any rule that she wants on any of the modules in the EMR and he will be alerted for the same.

Open EMR is a free and open source electronic health records and medical practice management application. It is ONC certified and it features fully integrated electronic health care records, practice management, scheduling, electronic billing, internationalization, free support and also a vibrant community. It is freely available, free to download, use, modify and upgrade. It is available on social media sites such as twitter, Facebook and

Computers play an integral part in gathering data as well as dissemination of that information (Roeder, 2009). The use and development of both the EMR and electronic health record (EHR) have made the concept of extracting data from patient records more feasible. Information entered into the electronic health record by HHC and OR staff can be aggregated into a single, central system such as data warehouse making it more accessible and actionable (Bercovitz, Park-Lee, & Jamoom, 2013).

An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of the paper based medical record for an individual. An electronic medical record contains the standard medical and clinical data gathered in one provider’s office. Electronic health record goes beyond the data collected in the provider’s office and includes a more inclusive patient history. This system is intended to store data that accurately captures the state of a patient across time.

Electronic Medical Records systems lie at the center of any computerized health information system, without them other modern technologies, such as decision support systems cannot be effectively integrated into routine clinical workflow. The paperless, inter-operable, multi-provider, multi-specialty, multi-discipline computer medical record, which has been a goal for many researchers, healthcare professionals, administrators, and politicians for the past 20+ years is however about to become a reality in many western countries. The Obama administration has proposed, as part of the effort to revive the economy, a massive effort to modernize healthcare by making all health records standardized and electronic by 2014.

The EMR system provides adequate assistance and support for the clinician. This system reduces the chances of errors and increases efficiency in research facilities. This paper includes a summary from previous plans developed in the implementation of these proposed changes. The effectiveness of these changes carried out, measurement strategies, costs, and satisfaction with the EMR system implementations are points of analysis in this presentation.

If more than one EMR system is used clinically, it can inhere to safety issues, such as medical errors relating to prescription drugs, duplicate testing, and missing documentation, because one system may not have all needed medical information on the patient (Payne, Fellner, Dugowson, Leibovitz & Fletcher, 2012). Therefore, for clinical use, a monolithic system would be most appropriate to use, especially where a healthcare organization operates with interoperability capabilities.