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Staffing for EMR
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Best of Fit or Best of Breed? The Choice is Yours
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Decision Support Systems
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Interoperability: What Does It Mean?
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HIT vs. EHR vs. EMR
Monday, November 2, 2009
Staffing for EMR (3:29 PM)
Staffing for EMR
Cristina Boggiano, Ophthalmic Staffing Specialist: Cristina@theophthalmicassociates.com
Upon returning from a recent industry meeting, one of the most common topics of conversation and concern was the adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). While there is much planning and forethought that goes into implementing EMR, once the decision is made concerns about staffing for this project must be confronted.
The first step is to outline what the practice goals are for this process of automation. Meet with your staff and make clear to them what post implementation goals are. Once you have your current staff on board, consider any personnel needs. Be sure not to underestimate your staffing needs, especially in the transitioning process. Despite what some practices might think, EMR does not necessarily enable a work force reduction, especially in the beginning.
A practice or ophthalmic institution has several options for delegation of work. The most straightforward approach would be to invest in your current employees. Once you have discussed the choice to initiate EMR, expand the duties of those staff that are enthusiastic about the change. If your staff is willing to absorb new responsibilities, those ancillary positions such as medical records staff can be gradually phased out over time.
Addition of permanent IT staff is not absolutely necessary and all depends upon the system you choose. Larger practices that choose locally hosted systems are more likely to need a permanent IT employee. Smaller practices that use online systems could be better served by hiring an IT consultant for the initial stages of implementation. Technology consultants come with different skill sets and it is important to have a checklist for your practice. Ask prospective consultants the right questions to determine how they will complete the work.
Taking on EMR can be both an exciting and challenging experience. There are several components that lay the foundation for a smooth transition with staffing and personnel being at the cornerstone. Take time to plan and prepare with every aspect of this investment and the efficiencies and revenue generated should pay off in dividends.
Cristina Boggiano, Ophthalmic Staffing Specialist: Cristina@theophthalmicassociates.com
Upon returning from a recent industry meeting, one of the most common topics of conversation and concern was the adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). While there is much planning and forethought that goes into implementing EMR, once the decision is made concerns about staffing for this project must be confronted.
The first step is to outline what the practice goals are for this process of automation. Meet with your staff and make clear to them what post implementation goals are. Once you have your current staff on board, consider any personnel needs. Be sure not to underestimate your staffing needs, especially in the transitioning process. Despite what some practices might think, EMR does not necessarily enable a work force reduction, especially in the beginning.
A practice or ophthalmic institution has several options for delegation of work. The most straightforward approach would be to invest in your current employees. Once you have discussed the choice to initiate EMR, expand the duties of those staff that are enthusiastic about the change. If your staff is willing to absorb new responsibilities, those ancillary positions such as medical records staff can be gradually phased out over time.
Addition of permanent IT staff is not absolutely necessary and all depends upon the system you choose. Larger practices that choose locally hosted systems are more likely to need a permanent IT employee. Smaller practices that use online systems could be better served by hiring an IT consultant for the initial stages of implementation. Technology consultants come with different skill sets and it is important to have a checklist for your practice. Ask prospective consultants the right questions to determine how they will complete the work.
Taking on EMR can be both an exciting and challenging experience. There are several components that lay the foundation for a smooth transition with staffing and personnel being at the cornerstone. Take time to plan and prepare with every aspect of this investment and the efficiencies and revenue generated should pay off in dividends.
Labels: EMR, Health Information Technology, Staffing
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Best of Fit or Best of Breed? The Choice is Yours (2:02 PM)
Best of Fit or Best of Breed? The Choice is Yours
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P
ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
Most practices will need to make a decision about whether to use multiple vendors or a single vendor for all of their health information technology (HIT) system needs. For example, some vendors have products in their suite for e-prescribing and electronic health records (EHR), where other vendors might offer only an EHR product or e-prescribing product.
According to Margaret K. Amatayakul, author of Electronic Health Records: A Practical Guide for Professionals and Organizations, "[b]est of fit, or single source, is a scenario in which the products in one vendor's suite of products are integrated or fit well together and it is difficult to introduce other vendors' products. Best of breed is a situation where the best products are selected from various vendors. Unless best-of-breed products are open source, meaning the source code is readily available, is technology neutral, and does not restrict use of another software, it can be difficult to get them to communicate with one another."
There are several case studies available on the internet that discuss how different healthcare organizations decided between best of fit or best of breed.
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P
ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
Most practices will need to make a decision about whether to use multiple vendors or a single vendor for all of their health information technology (HIT) system needs. For example, some vendors have products in their suite for e-prescribing and electronic health records (EHR), where other vendors might offer only an EHR product or e-prescribing product.
According to Margaret K. Amatayakul, author of Electronic Health Records: A Practical Guide for Professionals and Organizations, "[b]est of fit, or single source, is a scenario in which the products in one vendor's suite of products are integrated or fit well together and it is difficult to introduce other vendors' products. Best of breed is a situation where the best products are selected from various vendors. Unless best-of-breed products are open source, meaning the source code is readily available, is technology neutral, and does not restrict use of another software, it can be difficult to get them to communicate with one another."
There are several case studies available on the internet that discuss how different healthcare organizations decided between best of fit or best of breed.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Decision Support Systems (9:44 AM)
Decision Support Systems
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
LaTour and Eicenwald-Maki, in their text, Health Information Management Concepts, Principles and Practice, describe decision support systems as interactive computer systems that intent to help decision makers use data and models to identify and solve problems and make decisions. In the clinical setting, these systems are known as clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and assist physicians and other healthcare providers in applying new information to patient care through the analysis of patient-specific medical/clinical variables. CDSS can be as simple as providing alerts, reminders and access to medical literature.
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
LaTour and Eicenwald-Maki, in their text, Health Information Management Concepts, Principles and Practice, describe decision support systems as interactive computer systems that intent to help decision makers use data and models to identify and solve problems and make decisions. In the clinical setting, these systems are known as clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and assist physicians and other healthcare providers in applying new information to patient care through the analysis of patient-specific medical/clinical variables. CDSS can be as simple as providing alerts, reminders and access to medical literature.
Labels: CDSS, computer, Decision Support Systems, EMR, HIT
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Interoperability: What Does It Mean? (8:02 AM)
Interoperability: What Does It Mean?
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
As explained by Margret K. Amatayakul in Electronic Health Records, A Practical Guide for Professionals and Organizations, Third Edition, basic interoperability is the ability of software and hardware on different machines from different vendors to share data. However, interoperability has been further defined in healthcare by the Office of the National Coordinator(ONC), Connecting for Health, and others to mean:
· The ability to exchange patient health information among disparate clinicians and other authorized entities in real time and under stringent security , privacy and other protections (ONC 2005b)
· The ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, to exchange data accurately, effectively, and consistently, and to use the information that has been exchanged (NAHIT 2005)
· The ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities (HIMSS 2005)
· At the application level, interoperability means the capacity of a connected, authenticated use to access, transmit and/or receive/exchange usable information with other uses (Connecting for Health 2005)
Emily L. Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
As explained by Margret K. Amatayakul in Electronic Health Records, A Practical Guide for Professionals and Organizations, Third Edition, basic interoperability is the ability of software and hardware on different machines from different vendors to share data. However, interoperability has been further defined in healthcare by the Office of the National Coordinator(ONC), Connecting for Health, and others to mean:
· The ability to exchange patient health information among disparate clinicians and other authorized entities in real time and under stringent security , privacy and other protections (ONC 2005b)
· The ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, to exchange data accurately, effectively, and consistently, and to use the information that has been exchanged (NAHIT 2005)
· The ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities (HIMSS 2005)
· At the application level, interoperability means the capacity of a connected, authenticated use to access, transmit and/or receive/exchange usable information with other uses (Connecting for Health 2005)
Labels: EHR, EMR, HIT, Interoperability
Monday, June 1, 2009
HIT vs. EHR vs. EMR (9:39 AM)
HIT vs. EHR vs. EMR
Emily Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
According to Kathleen M. LaTour and Shirley Eichenwald-Maki, authors of Health Information Management Concepts, Principles and Practice, Second Edition, health, or healthcare information technology (HIT) is a term that encompasses the technical roles that process health data and records, such as classification, abstracting, retrieval, and so on. LaTour and Eichenwald-Maki define Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) as a form of computer-based health record in which information is stored in whole files instead of by individual data elements and a computerized record of health information and associated processes, respectively.
Emily Graham, RHIA, CCS-P, ASCRS/ASOA Associate Director, Regulatory Affairs
According to Kathleen M. LaTour and Shirley Eichenwald-Maki, authors of Health Information Management Concepts, Principles and Practice, Second Edition, health, or healthcare information technology (HIT) is a term that encompasses the technical roles that process health data and records, such as classification, abstracting, retrieval, and so on. LaTour and Eichenwald-Maki define Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) as a form of computer-based health record in which information is stored in whole files instead of by individual data elements and a computerized record of health information and associated processes, respectively.
Labels: EHR, Electronic Health Record, Electronic Medical Record, EMR, Health Information Technology, HIT, Ophthalmology
