Question: EHR Implementation atCommunity Medical Center

EHR Implementation: Gathering Information

This is your first day on the job as Assistant Director in the HIM department at Community Medical Center (CMC). You meet with the HIM Director and she explains that CMC has given her the go-ahead to begin the process of implementing an electronic medical record. As Assistant Director, you will have responsibility for several phases of this important project. Your Director knows that while you have earned an RHIT certification, you still need to learn some background before you begin. You have one week to learn as much as you can about EHR implementation.

Deliverable: Your task is to find three articles that explain the EHR implementation process and present a 2-3 page summary about what you have learned to the HIM Director. You remember writing formal reports while as a studentand youplan to follow the APA format used in school.

EHR Implementation: Assembling a Team:

The more you learn, the more you realize the EHR project is much larger in scope than just the HIM Department. Your Director has asked you to assemble an EHR Task Force made from several key departments atCMC impacted by the new system.

Deliverables: Create a list of departments and possible titles of people who you think should be part of the EHR Implementation Task Force. Attach this list as an addendum to your implementation summary report.

EHR Implementation: Investigating Vendors

The HIM Director assigns you a very important task in rolling out an EHR: investigating vendors. She recommends going to the CCHIT website and reviewing the list of CCHIT-Certified EHR/EHR vendors. The two of you discuss some important questions to determine which software best meets your organization's needs: What features are must-haves? What features are strong wants, but not absolutely necessary? What does one vendor have that another doesn't? Your budget has a limit. Will this vendor meet your budget? How might this impact staffing?

Deliverables: Starting with the CCHIT recommended list, go to the websites of 3 vendors.Look over the products available and read about their features.

1. Complete the Vendor Name and web site address column in the simpledecision matrixbelow with the names of thethree vendors. (This is just a made-up matrix for use in this Assignment - the real vendor's features won't match the grid. This is just to give you an idea of how a table such as this can be used to make decisions.)

2. Compare alternatives: The lower-cost product does not have a physician order component, which means physician orders will be hand-written and you will have to scan them to add to the EHR. The mid-cost product does not link to diagnostic reports. The higher-cost product gives you the convenience of a fully electronic record, but at a price. You still must budget for scanners, because you know there are still paper documents that the HIM department receives that will need to be added to the EHR. Write a one-page report to the Director about the product you recommend and justify your decision.

EHR Implementation: Making Adjustments

Your recommendations were implemented and the EHR Task Force moved forward and the new EHR was implemented at CMC. You and your Director realize the HIM Department has a problem. While the EHR is working pretty well, you have run into a snag. You have underestimated the amount of paper documents that come from other sources not linked to your EHR. The scanning area is piling up with paper. There is enough money in the department budget to either purchase another scanner or hire one FTE to scan on second shift. What are the pros and cons of each? Or is there another alternative? The Director asks you to decide on a solution by next week.

Deliverable: In a memo to the Director, make your recommendation and justify your decision by listing your rationale in several bullet points.