Implementation of the New Electronic Health Record System (EHRs)
Key Information Needed in the Database
An Electronic Health Record system (EHRs) is a systemized program that facilitates the collection and storage of information from patients in a digital format. The patient records collected by these systems can be shared across the different healthcare settings through connected networks, information exchanges, and enterprise-wide information (Biltoft & Finneman, 2018). Through the use of EHRs, they have eliminated the challenges that were experienced before in tracking medical paper records. Some of the key information that will be captured in the database to facilitate opportunities for care improvement include patient demographics and medical history that will range from medication, allergies, immunization status, laboratory and radiology results, and billing information (EW & Grove, 2016). The combination of the different types of clinical data has assisted the clinicians to track chronically ill patients through the use of the data and the system analytics (Joukes et al., 2019). With the digital records being searchable in just a single file, the EHRs have not only become efficient in the extraction of medical data but also effective in examining the trend of care and potential long term changes in the patient.
Role of Informatics in Capturing Data
Healthcare informatics facilitates patient-centered care. According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), patient-centered care is care that is respectful and responsive to the needs, preferences, and values of the patient (Joukes et al., 2019). As highlighted above, informatics is crucial in patient-centered care since it dictates how patient data is stored, extracted, and applied in the field of healthcare (EW & Grove, 2016). Patients and healthcare providers may use communication tools and information to interact with one another in different ways (Joukes et al., 2019). For instance, clinicians, through informatics, use systems such as Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) to ensure coordination and sharing of information with the other healthcare providers. The patients, on the other hand, by having access to their data enable them to take greater control of their care (EW & Grove, 2016). However, informatics should be used with caution due to patients’ and clinician’s access to inappropriate and biased data that could hinder their interactions (Meehan et al., 2016). As such, the patients and healthcare providers need to identify high-quality information that can be shared appropriately and which enhances their interactions.
Systems and Staff needed in the Design and Implementation
In the implementation of the EHRs, there are a variety of considerations that must be taken into account. Some of the crucial team members that will be required in the implementation include the project manager, application developer, and analyst, and quality assurance engineer (Meehan et al., 2016). The project manager should be an individual who has experience in the implementation of EHRs. The project manager will be responsible for rolling out the EHRs, specifying the deadlines, requirements, and targets, and ensuring that the implementation is successful (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). On the other hand, the role of the application analyst and developer will be to collect ideas and concepts that need to be incorporated in the development of the new system. Besides, the application analyst will be in charge of customizing the system to suit the healthcare needs of the institution (Meehan et al., 2016). The application analyst and developer must have a clinical background as either a nurse or a physician to understand the day to day clinical needs of the application (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). Finally, the quality assurance engineer will be in charge of testing the system after each implementation phase (Meehan et al., 2016). The parameters for testing include better functionality, data security, and confirmation if the system can handle the required volume of users.
Professional, Ethical, and Legal Standards Incorporated in the System
A health record is not just a collection of patient medical history, but a part of his or her life since the individual owns the information. With the patient owning his or her records, the four ethical priority standards that will be considered in the design and implementation of this system include privacy and confidentiality, data integrity, security, and inaccuracies (Meehan et al., 2016). The key to maintaining the confidentiality of the patient records is by allowing access by only authorized individuals. With data security breaches threatening the confidentiality of the healthcare records, the system implementation will abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). HIPAA regulations require the entities to implement physical, technical, and administrative structures that will safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the healthcare records (EW & Grove, 2016). By abiding by the HIPAA, the facility will ensure that any potential risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic records are addressed.
How the EHR team ensure will ensure that all order sets are part of the new record
Clinical Order Set use in the EHRs has proven to reduce medication errors and improvement of patient outcomes through adherence to the evidence-based protocols. To ensure that all order sets are part of the new record, reviews and change control strategies will be implemented (EW & Grove, 2016). Besides, with the availability of new evidence on better drugs and treatment, the order sets will be reviewed to reflect the changes.
Communicating the Changes
The first step in communicating changes is to develop a communication plan. A leader needs to communicate with his or her employees during transition is significant as the change itself. The first step will be to collect the concerns that the staff will have towards the changes (EW & Grove, 2016). This stage will be accomplished by addressing concerns such as layoffs, the company’s vision, and benefits of the new system, among other issues (Biltoft & Finneman, 2018). The second stage will be to decide on what that can be shared and the people who will be impacted by the transition. The employees should understand what is going on from the management rather than from another party. Besides, by identifying the individuals who will be impacted by the transition, the respective departmental heads can be able to address the next steps (Biltoft & Finneman, 2018).
The third step will be to address the employees on a face to face basis. It is recommended for large scale transitions to be done face to face rather than through digital means because the employee will feel that the company did not care about them (Meehan et al., 2016). The changes communicated will contain the information highlighted in the first and second steps as well as the new changes, which will be connected with the mission and vision of the organization.
Evaluating the Success of HER
Some of the metrics that will be evaluated to assess the success of EHRs implementation include patient engagement, wait times, population health engagement, care coordination, and return on investment. The clinical staff will engage the patients on how they can access and track their health records (Meehan et al., 2016). The engagement process can be done by tracking patients who have already used the system. Wait times at the facility can be an indication of workflow delays for patients (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). If there are fewer delays and the healthcare providers are coordinating seamlessly, then the new EHRs are working adequately (Meehan et al., 2016). Finally, a return on investment measure will be a significant financial assessment tool that will analyze the viability of the system implementation. The expected financial return of the project will be compared with the investment costs (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). Generally, setting objective and measurable benchmarks, it is possible to track the progress of the implementation of the new EHRs.
Leadership Skills and Theories for Collaboration
Shared leadership approach will be implemented to facilitate collaboration among inter-professional teams. Through a shared leadership approach, the professional teams will feel empowered in the decision-making process due to task delegation and teamwork support (Wolf & Mendelson, 2019). The result of shared leadership will be the healthcare team developing leadership behaviors, acquire greater autonomy, and improve patient outcomes. When the core of the organization is structured to achieve the mission and vision of the facility, the influence will affect individuals who are outside the core (Biltoft & Finneman, 2018).
References
Biltoft, J., & Finneman, L. (2018). Clinical and financial effects of smart pump–electronic medical record interoperability at a hospital in a regional health system. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 75(14), 1064-1068. doi: 10.2146/ajhp161058
EW, J., & Grove D, H. (2016). Physician Opinions about EHR Use by EHR Experience and by Whether the Practice had optimized its EHR Use. Journal of Health & Medical Informatics, 7(4). doi: 10.4172/2157-7420.1000240
Joukes, E., de Keizer, N., de Bruijne, M., Abu-Hanna, A., & Cornet, R. (2019). Impact of Electronic versus Paper-Based Recording before EHR Implementation on Health Care Professionals’ Perceptions of EHR Use, Data Quality, and Data Reuse. Applied Clinical Informatics, 10(02), 199-209. doi: 10.1055/s-0039-1681054
Meehan, R., Mon, D., Kelly, K., Rocca, M., Dickinson, G., Ritter, J., & Johnson, C. (2016). Increasing EHR system usability through standards: Conformance criteria in the HL7 EHR-system functional model. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 63, 169-173. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2016.08.015
Wolf, G., & Mendelson, D. (2019). The My Health Record System: Potential to Undermine the Paradigm of Patient Confidentiality? SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3452967