4-6 pages, including bibliography and title page
Most hospitals and practices have implemented an electronic health record system (EHRs) to ensure compliance with meaningful use and other requirements under the HITECH Act and Affordable Care Act. The benefits of EHR are numerous; however, there can be significant barriers to their acquisition and use. Many healthcare institutions are reevaluating their current EHRs in light of new requirements, concerns about ability of current vendor to support changes and also mergers and acquisitions of institutions and practices.
Yorkshire Clinic is an acute care clinic located in Tacoma, Washington. The clinic is comprised of a group of 10 physicians, 2 physician assistants, 1 nurse practitioner, and several ancillary staff. Yorkshire Clinic serves a patient population of approximately 14,000. An EHRs was implemented five years ago to qualify for government incentives under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical (HITECH) Act of 2009.
Ms. Janet Hendricks, the Chief Executive Officer of Yorkshire Clinic, has received complaints from the medical staff about the current EHRs and has concerns about the responsiveness and ability of the vendor to make upgrades. He has set the goal for the HCO to evaluate, select and implement a new EHRs. Ms Hendricks and the physicians have discussed the option, and they realize that replacing the current EHRs could improve the quality and safety of patient care and alleviate some future issues. In fact, they all believe in the need to replace the current EHRs so much that Mr. Magone has incorporated EHRs replacement/upgrade into Yorkshire Clinic's strategic plan.
Ms. Hendricks and the physicians realize that replacing the current EHRs and implementing a new one will be costly and will take time, but they are willing to make the investment. There is widespread support for the endeavor, and everyone has agreed to be part of the steering committee to guide project development.
The various stakeholders include physicians, nurses, administrators, and patients. There have been several meetings in which the end-users have been afforded the opportunity to ask questions and provide their feedback about the initiative. There is growing enthusiasm among physicians and clinicians about the improvements and advantages of replacing the current EHRs will bring.
Ms. Hendricks has made it clear that patient needs are driving the project. she wants to ensure that EHR design is driven by patient care and satisfaction. She also wants to make sure that proper work-flow planning occurs and areas where EHR use could be best applied are determined. Leadership at Yorkshire Clinic also recognizes that training and support will be imperative to success. Ms. Hendricks wants to ensure that training is budgeted for and scheduled accordingly.
Deciding to replace an EHRs and then doing so can be a daunting and extensive process, and it requires an extensive amount of planning and organizational commitment. By developing a viable plan, risks associated with a new EHRs implementation can be minimized. Throughout this course, you will develop a plan to select and implement a new EHRs in Yorkshire Clinic. Each week, you will build upon your plan, and in the final weeks of this course, you will provide a final report detailing your findings.
- Utilizing the information in the above scenario, provide a needs analysis for replacement of the current EHR and a readiness assessment in preparation for the implementation of the replacement electronic health record (EHR) at your health care organization (HCO).
- In as much detail as possible, describe the benefits and challenges of replacing the current EHR with a new one and its implementation across the organization.