The Hill Physicians Medical Group was established in 1984 in the northern part of California. They are the most prevalent independent practice association (IPA) in the country, with over 3,800 physicians who attend to about 300,000 patients. The Hill Physicians are rated among “the best of California’s 200 medical groups by the California Office of the Patient Advocate” for its clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction (Hill Physicians Medical Group, 2013, para. 2). The Hill Physicians Medical Group case study reveals several innovations which led to their success in delivering quality care and improving patient health outcomes. An analysis of their approach and process reveals success in quality and care management innovations, financial incentives, and lessons learned from their experiences. Quality and Care Management Innovations Quality and care management innovations implemented by the Hill Physicians Medical Group were the use of health information technology (HIT), predictive modeling, and chronic care management. The Group capitalized $5.7 million towards the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs) throughout their physician offices to assist with clinical workflow, management of patient health information (PHI), and integration evidence-based practice procedures. Predictive modeling was used to manage chronic conditions by utilizing a Priority Score to establish who might need major health care services. As such, nurse case managers were able to
In regards to technology and how its influences healthcare today we see the use of EHRs, which allows for a high capacity healthcare environment by condensing patient information into an easily accessible form for all healthcare professionals. “EHRs allow us to collect meaningful data to determine the efficacy in which our units are functioning” (Biddle & Milstead 2016, p.12). This technology can help manage the high capacity hospital environment while not compromising quality. This
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.
In turn, Hill Physicians have explored innovative ways to improve patient outcomes. Hill undertook large-scale quality initiatives that involved restructuring how their physicians delivered care. As a result, they have become a recognized leader in innovative healthcare. Investigating
Electronic Health Record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patients medical history, that is maintained by the provider over time, and may include all of the key administrative clinical data relevant to that persons care under a particular provider, including demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports (Ehlke & Morone, 2013). The incentives from both of this articles will result in the delivery of quality care to many individuals in
Over the previous eight years, there has been a significant investment of private and public funds to upsurge the adoption of Electronic health records (EHRs) across the nation. The extensive adoption and “meaningful use” of electronic health records is a national priority. EHRs come in various forms and can be utilized in distinct organizations, as interoperating systems in allied health care units, on a regional level, or nationwide. The benefit of utilizing an EHR depends heavily on provider’s uptake on technology. Benefits related to electronic health records are numerous and may have clinical, organizational and societal outcomes. However, challenges in implementing electronic health records has attained some attention, the implementation
It has only been within the last five years that health information management (HIM) has experienced exponential changes, due to the healthcare reform. The electronic health record (EHR) is connected to health information exchanges and other systems of interoperability. The timely completion of charts, coding and release of information (ROI) has become much more efficient with the electronic record. Traditional HIM functions will just be transformed and will always be an integral part of successful patient care. Professionals must be flexible and willing to adapt and even generate change. As Health Information Technology continues to evolve, so will the roles
Meaningful Use is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) program that awards incentives to eligible professionals (EP) and hospitals for using electronic health records (EHR) to improve patient care. This paper will provide an overview of the core criteria providers must follow to effectively use the EHR to qualify for the incentives and avoid penalties. The Meaningful Use criteria is implemented in three stages over five years to improve healthcare outcomes. This paper also explores the implementation of meaningful use in health information and how it has directly affected nursing, the nation’s public health, patient outcomes, and population health. Benefits of EMRs are improved patient care and coordination, quality of care and patient safety, improved efficiency and productivity, and financial savings.
I received an assignment to investigate a complaint on Dr. Michael Kaplan on 11/20/2014 regarding some concerns raised about Dr. Kaplan’s practice at Boone Hospital. These concerns triggered an investigation by the medical executive committee (MEC). Dr. Kaplan elected to retire from the hospital, resign his medical staff appointment and clinical privileges. This was reported to the Board of Healing Arts and to the National Practitioner Databank.
As patient information is readily available in the electronic record, it makes health care provider make better and quicker choices and decisions. These decisions can be based on evidence base care that is supported through data that is gathered from the patient’s records. EHR improves patient safety by providing access to information, eliminating gaps of communication among the different providers, decrease redundancy, and reduces duplication in testing. EHR has benefited health care and at the same time create positive outcomes for the nurses. Some of the positive outcomes for nurses are; comparison of previous to current data, improves documentation of the quality of care, allows recognition of the work done in measurable units by nurses, and reduces redundancy with baseline demographic data (Hebda & Czar, 2013). Data that is summarized through the EHR can evaluate performance management and look at quality issues. Along with those features, EHR can potentially increase efficiency, improved quality of care, standardize documentation, increase clinical workflow, and improved overall outcomes for
Federal stimulus money spurred the purchase and installation of health information technology (HIT) within our American healthcare system (Dashboard.healthit.gov, 2017). This technology has secured its place in our society by providing many benefits to patients and healthcare practitioners. However, health information technology (HIT) also has the potential to negatively impact patient care. This paper will talk about how EHR affects patient care and what can we do as future practitioners to help.
Technology has had a role in healthcare for some time, but only recently has it matured to a point where it can support operational, business and clinical functions of healthcare organizations. In the past, many hospitals used technology for specialized departments and unique roles, but the concept of a complete electronic health record system did not exist until the early 2000’s. The American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) Supplement to the AHA Annual Survey stated that in 2008 only 9.4% of hospitals had a basic electronic health record (EHR) system (HealthIT EHR, 2014). They defined a basic EHR as having electronic clinical information that includes results and the ability to enter and view clinical notes. Without the ability for healthcare organizations to capture clinical information electronically, an online patient engagement solution cannot
There is opportunity to improve the quality of health care in Jones Hospital. Information technology (IT) offers the potential to address the organization’s most pressing dilemmas: care fragmentation, medical errors, and rising costs. The leading example of this is the electronic health record (EHR). An EHR, as explained by HealthIT.gov (n.d.), is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. It includes, but is not limited to, medical history, diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans. The EHR, then, serves as a resource that will aid Jones Hospital clinicians in decision-making by providing comprehensive patient information.
Computerized management systems or electronic medical records can work to increase the quality of care in several ways. One way being that because medical record data is all computerized, there is a significant improvement in the legibility and translation of the health information therefore resulting in fewer errors and miscommunications. Other benefits to an electronic medical record is that it aids in increasing accuracy, timeliness, and efficiency overall. Computerizing medical records is a safer and more convenient way to store, review, track, and analyze data on any given patient versus paper charting. It also cuts down on loss, cost and clutter. Therefore, because of all
With each passing day, technology plays a larger and larger role in health care. Physicians in organizations of all sizes are being incentivized and even required to use electronic health records and other information technology systems in their practices. Familiarity with these systems and the regulations that dictate their use is a significant benefit in today's technology-driven health care field. A physician who understands the role health IT plays in modern medicine brings added value to any organization or practice he or she is a part of.
Having a single view of the patient and their treatment and recovery plan is invaluable in ascertaining which are the most and least effective tactics in treatment. The 360-degree view of the patient and the many processes supporting them is crucial for increasing the accuracy, effectiveness and performance of treatment programs over time (Blakeman, 1985). Computerized management systems are critical for organizing, analyzing and translating the massive amount of data captured on patients, treatment and recovery processes, and the use of supporting IT systems to optimize patient health and organizational provider performance (Peshek, Cubera, Gleespen, 2010). The ability to aggregate and intelligently use all available data, information, patient-based and process-generated data to deliver higher levels of quality care is possible when computerized management systems are used throughout healthcare organizations.