Assignment

Utilize the scenario at the bottom of page to assist you with your plan completion. 100 percent original with at least 2 references APA format. Please note there is 2 parts to this assignment. Part 1 needs to have at least 1000-1200 words with at least 2 references APA format. Part 2 is a one page cover letter. Please note it all should be 100 percent original work. Your vendor is Athena Health. All information should reflect on Athena Health.

Now that you have selected Athena Healthas your vendor to supply electronic health record (EHR) capabilities to the clinic, you must submit a request for proposal (RFP). The RFP is a valuable tool that is used to provide detailed requirements to potential vendors and gives guidelines to those vendors to follow during the bidding contract. The RFP might request that the vendor provide the following (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2005):

• Vendor qualifications: General background of vendor, experience, number of installations, financial stability, and so forth

• Proposed solutions: How the vendor believes its product meets organizational goals

• General contractual requirements: Warranties, payment schedule, penalties for failure to meet schedule specified in the contract, and so forth

• Pricing and support: Quote on cost of system, utilization of standardized forms, and so forth

• Clinical Decision and Administrative support: Discuss the advantages of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) and a Management

Information Systems (MIS) on the healthcare information systems especially with the EHR.

The RFP that you construct should list numerous items that Yorkshire Clinic requires, such as the following:

• Information about the clinic
• What functionality is desired
• Product description
• Patient accounting and reimbursement

Part 2 Task

Create a cover letter for your RFP that will be sent to potential vendors of information systems.

Scenario

Throughout this course, you will develop a plan to select and implement a new electronic health record (EHR) system in your health care organization (HCO). 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.

The following scenario will be utilized throughout this course to assist you in completing your plan:

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. You will use the following scenario to complete each week's assignment in this course:

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.