Electronic Health Records in Small Practices Essay

Besides identifying the objectives required to qualify for meaningful use, we must also consider the Ambulatory care practice’s key goals of streamlining registration, billing and improving the patient record documentation process. The project team should diagram and process map the current as well as the new proposed work flow to determine their specific needs and define objectives. When considering an EHR vendor, it is suggested that the Ambulatory care practice be able to demo the product with specific scenarios applicable to the

The cons of an EHR are part of the driving force behind the model restricted from the need to integrate EHRs throughout the health system and share information with network of referring hospitals. However, this sharing of information is often not possible (EHR,2013). Finding a hospital partner that is willing to open the lines of communication is critical to the success. The cost associated with EHRs is often a deterrent. Not only must the provider pay for the physical hardware and/or software, the organization must also put forth a considerable dollar amount for setup, maintenance, training, IT support and system updates (EHR,2013). With EHRs, much more documentation is required of physicians before, during and after a patient visit. This has its pros and cons. For example, a benefit of more strong documentation is that it provides additional information for the coders that may justify a higher level of service being billed(EHR,2013).

This article describes The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act’s (HITECH) “meaningful use” objective to create a nationwide system of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in order to improve patient safety, quality of care, privacy and security. The authors point out that during the first two years of an EHR implementation, clinicians and hospitals must meet certain requirements in order to qualify for federally funded incentive payments totaling up to $107,750 per clinician. This incentive is meant to ease the financial challenges smaller practices might face as the United States works toward a more technically collaborative information care system, EHRs promise to provide.

In the recent years, EHR implementation has been one of the biggest change that occurred in the health care delivery system. The adoption of EHR system which aims to improve the quality of healthcare, however, has met a lot of issues and barriers that are detrimental to its success. Thus, for any healthcare organization to achieve a favorable outcome after the EHR implementation, numerous factors have to be examined. Merrill (2010) has listed down the top ten factors for a successful EHR adoption. It includes right leadership, shared vision, right culture, governance, physicians, nurses and key stakeholders are engaged early and accountable to lead the clinical transformation, resources, clinical content standardization, realistic timelines and expectations, effective training and communication plan, and right vendor partnership relationship.

The biggest hurdle to overcome when implementing an EHR system is not the technology but the physician buy-in. While providers value the functionality of the EHR system, physician resistance stems from altering the routine practice of care.

Adoption of EMR systems is significant for the delivery of consistent, high-quality and efficient healthcare. Research shows that EMR adoption rates vary by practice size. Physicians working in small practices are less likely to have EMR systems than those working in larger practices. In 2012, Ramaiah, Subrahmanian, Sriram, and Lide enunciated, “less than 11.3% of the small practices have fully implemented EMR systems.” I believe EMR adoption challenges are faced by both small medical practices and large healthcare systems but in a different way. Small medical practices face barriers primarily because of the lack of access to capital, lower ability to handle the productivity challenges created due to new EMR adoption (e.g. available EMR software does not meet the practice’s needs), lesser ability to choose a vendor and concerns about future obsolescence. Also, small practices may face some EMR quality issues. For example, the vendors may target larger practices and thus, sell lower quality EMR systems to small practice providers. Another key issue for small practices is the integration of EMR systems with practice management systems (Rao et al., 2011). On the contrary, large-scale healthcare systems are more concerned about the loss of productivity during the transition to EMRs, disruption in the physician’s workflow, security and privacy issues, safety and usability challenges, etc. In order to overcome the

The adoption of EHR has been slower than expected (Gans 1323). With numerous systems available, it is particularly difficult for a smaller practice to identify which system best meets its needs. Other notable challenges for some practices include assumption of the capital investment as well as managerial responsibilities associated with the IT infrastructure. A common implementation challenge encountered is the lack of a universal vision and definition of EHR. Since there are multiple interpretations of the definition of EHR and attendant requirements, identifying current and future needs is a complex process for potential users. Short term limited ability systems will eventually become obsolete as there is a move toward more global EHR systems. On June 18,

Resistance towards EHR systems tends to run high among physicians. The increase in the adoption of EHR in health systems has its challenges and concerns. Many physicians complain of negative impact on workflow, productivity disruption, and most importantly the physician-patient relationship. Earnest et al. (2004) concluded that physicians’ had initially thought information technology would be an obstacle to their workflow. Also, federal mandates with deadlines have created an environment where many physician practices have adopted an EHR strictly for compliance without any thought to the ongoing needs of the system (Porter, 2015). The EHRs that were quickly brought to market have been the source of ongoing frustrations and issues since they had the sole purpose of meeting

EHR is rapidly growing in technology today. Some facilities have EHR and some are not fully functioning EHR system. I will explain the top three major barriers that have impeded more facilities from having a fully functioning EHR system?

In a healthcare world that operates on stringent budgets and margins, we begin to see the need for a higher capacity healthcare delivery system. This in turn puts pressure on the healthcare organizations to ensure higher standards of patient care, and compliance with the reform provisions. However, these are the harsh realities of today’s healthcare environment, a setting in which value does not always equal quality. The use of technology can help to amend some of this by providing higher capacity care without compromising quality; this can be done with the use of such technology as electronic health records (EHRs). This paper will aim to address how EHRs influence healthcare today by expanding upon topics such as funding sources, reimbursement methods, economic factors, socioeconomic factors, business influences, and cost containment.

The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize the literature on the pros and cons of electronic health record systems. This paper describes the many benefits of electronic health record systems, which include but are not limited to, less paperwork, increased quality of care, financial incentives, and increased efficiency and productivity. Organizational outcomes and societal benefits are also addressed. Despite the tremendous amount of benefits, studies in the literature highlight potential disadvantages of electronic health record systems. These disadvantages include privacy and security concerns, identity theft, data loss, financial issues, and changes in workflow, involving a temporary loss of productivity. Preventative measures that can be taken are addressed as well. Overall, people believe that the benefits of electronic health records can be realized when they are used correctly, and proper measures are taken to reduce any potential drawbacks.

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized form of a patient’s medical chart. These records allow information to be readily available to authorized providers during a patient’s encounter with the healthcare system. These systems do not only contain medical histories, current medications and insurance information, they also track patients’ diagnoses, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images and lab tests/results (source). The fundamental aspect of EHRs is that they are able to share a patient’s information quickly across service lines and even between different healthcare organizations. Information is at the fingertips of lab techs, primary care physicians, pharmacies, clinics, etc. The

Over the past decade, virtually every major industry invested heavily in computerization. Relative to a decade ago, today more Americans buy airline tickets and check in to flights online, purchase goods on the Web, and even earn degrees online in such disciplines as nursing,1 law,2 and business,3 among others. Yet, despite these advances in our society, the majority of patients are given handwritten medication prescriptions, and very few patients are able to email their physician4 or even schedule an appointment to see a provider without speaking to a live receptionist. Electronic health record (EHR) systems have the potential to transform the health care system from a mostly paper-based industry to one that utilizes clinical

But with the benefits there are also the risk factors. Some disadvantages of the EHR system would include; initial cost of planning and implementing an EHR system, lack of standardization across the healthcare setting, unauthorized access to patient information (security and privacy), inaccurate patient information if not updated properly, technical downtimes, potential negligence for data loss and possible patient access to conditions that they don’t comprehend which may panic them.

Electronic health records (EHR’s) have many advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages. EHR’s were created to manage the many aspects of healthcare information. Medical professionals use them daily and most would feel lost without it. Healthcare organizations were encouraged to adopt EHR’s in 2009 due to the fact that a bill passed known as The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). “The HITECH Act outlines criteria to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic records. These criteria must be met in order for providers to receive financial incentives to promote adoption of EHRs as an integral part of their daily practice”, (Conrad, Hanson, Hasenau & Stocker-Schneider, 2012).