EHR Implementation Week 6 Assignment

One way informatics can be especially valuable is in capturing data to inspire improvements and quality change in practice. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) collects data related to adverse events and safety concerns. If you are working within a practice setting to implement a new electronic health record (EHR) system, this is just one of the many considerations your team would need to plan for during the rollout process In a paper of 1,250-1,500 words, address the following questions related to the advanced registered nurse\’s role during this type of scenario: 1. What key information would be needed in the database that would allow you to track opportunities for care improvement? 2.What role does informatics play in the ability to capture this data? 3.Which systems and staff members would need to be involved in the design and implementation process and team? 4.What professional, ethical, and regulatory standards must be incorporated into the design and implementation of the system? 5.How would the EHR team ensure that all order sets are part of the new record? 6.How would you communicate the changes, including any kind of transition plan? 7.What measures and steps would you take to evaluate the success of the EHR implementation from a staff, setting, and patient perspective? 8.What leadership skills and theories would facilitate collaboration with the inter professional team and provide evidence-based, patient-centered care?

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Data to be Captured

The Healthcare system is constantly faced with a lot of data emanating from the private and public sectors. Medical records, administrative enrolment, billing records, and health surveys are some of the data required and found in the healthcare database (Barclay et al., 2019).  Typically, the data is utilized by different stakeholders and bodies such as physicians, health facilities, and plans as well as hospitals.  The most quintessential information captured in the database is that of a patient’s race, language, and ethnicity since those are the factors that mainly contribute to the enrolment of a patient in healthcare. For healthcare to maximize the usefulness of the data collected, they must synchronize it with information obtained from other sources (Barclay et al., 2019). Further, it is important to appreciate that data collection is not always a seamless process and is usually faced with different limitations. Previously, the information would be used to ensure compliance with the provisions of civil rights and not merely for quality assurance and improvement purposes.  Primarily, healthcare facilities and hospitals should focus on ensuring they collect accurate data meant for quality improvement to help minimize disparities. EHR Implementation Week 6 Assignment

Role of Informatics in Capturing Data

Health informatics is a key factor in capturing data in healthcare and plays a critical role. Essentially, health informatics is a concept and a field that has evolved and has grown exponentially over the years to help focus on various ways data is collected, stored, and used in healthcare with a bias towards technology (Carayon et al., 2020).  Obviously, health informatics bolsters patient-centered care although at times it can be a limitation. Conceptually, informatics ensures critical patient information is available on demand.  However, technological related factors can derail its performance emanating from the bureaucracy which leads to dehumanization. In a nutshell, health informatics empowers healthcare providers with patient information pertaining to their general functioning and health (Carayon et al., 2020). Besides, healthcare professionals tend to use informatics to synchronize the information they gather from patients with their expertise, medical experience, and data resources to provide quality patient care.  Further, it is important to note that patients can also use informatics to share information with their friends and family.

Systems and Staff Members

The implementation of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system requires a multidisciplinary approach as it involves the initiation of change, designing practice workflows, training the care team as well as managing the adoption of the process (Epstein et al., 2020). Therefore, the process needs to be well thought out to help the staff members to adopt easily and to ensure the system is beneficial to the staff, patients, and physicians.  Firstly, identifying and creating an implementation team will help jump-start the process (Fennelly et al., 2020).  The team will comprise medical assistants, physicians, nurses, compliance office staff, receptionists, and administrative staff.  Normally, the clinical members play a crucial role in teaching the EHR skills to the other colleagues and also highlighting clinical problems and challenges to the implementation team. The three important roles to put into consideration are the lead superuser, project manager, and lead physician.

The lead super user will be the in-house expert whose roles will be to configure the software, create and design templates, order sets and develop revised workflows or the procedures required to address all the issues raised by the front-line users (Epstein et al., 2020).   On the other hand, the project manager will work closely with the staff and vendor in the practice to help stakeholders glued to their timelines. Also, the function will help in tracking the project and manage the daily issues. Finally, the leads physician will be responsible for guiding the organization through the implementation process and act as a link between the administrative and technical staff and all the front-line users. EHR Implementation Week 6 Assignment

Professional, Ethical and Regulatory Standards

An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is the electronic version of a patient’s medical history that is kept by the provider over time and comprises of all key administrative data pertinent to the patients under certain providers including diagnosis, vital signs, progress notes, demographics, laboratory data, immunizations, and radiology reports (Fennelly et al., 2020). Essentially, the system automates access to this critical information and streamlines the workflow. Further, it has the propensity to support and foster other care-related activities either directly or indirectly through several interfaces such as quality management, evidence-based decision support, and outcomes reporting.  Evidently, EHRs are the next huge step in the progress of healthcare that can reinforce the relationship between clinicians and patients.

Privacy and confidentiality are the major ethical issues facing the operation of EHRs.  All data shared as a result of clinical interaction and relationship is confidential and should be protected.  This information takes a different form such s diagnoses, laboratory results, and progress notes. It is normally stored in multiple media such as electronic files, paper, or video. However, information from which a patient cannot be identified such as the number of patients having prostate cancer does not fall under the category (Hertzum & Ellingsen,. 2019). The only time patient’s information should be released to others is when the patient permits or as allowed by law. Also, the information can always be released o other physicians for treatment and administrative purposes without the patient’s authorization.

Incorporation of Orders into New Record

The focus of hospitals should be to ensure they implement all order sets in the provision and delivery of care. Order sets use clinical decision support in the treatment of various conditions and diseases and focus on specific conditions or general. evidence-based orders are one way of integrating order sets into a new record as this helps to reduce the chances of omitting orders and creates room for the implementation of best practices (Hertzum & Ellingsen.,  2019). clearly, the EHR –based orders exponentially improve on quality, and in return patient’s safety and outcomes are guaranteed and the treatment becomes consistent, and as a result patient mortality is minimized and the hospital costs are reduced (Hertzum & Ellingsen.,  2019).  There are steps to be followed to incorporate order sets and ensure they are part of the new record. They include: offering secure administrative support, planning before implementing, institution buy-in, understanding the dynamics of the subject, carrying out annual audits, and monitoring and developing a robust communication strategy.

Communication of Change

Change is inevitable in every organization and to ensure effective implementation of the system, effective communication is needed, otherwise, the process will face barriers as people will be uncooperative and can cause the project total. The advantage of communication is; it ensures all the parties are provided with real-time updates on the transition process (Roehrs et al., 2019).  The Kotter approach is a model that can be adopted in healthcare to help in change management. This model emphasizes areas of focus such as understanding the current state and the reasons for anticipating the future state. Further, training can only be offered to the staff through communication. Healthcare leaders should use their skills and technology to build a conducive environment and climate for communication and change.

Monitoring the Success of the EHR System

Periodic evaluations of any systems are necessary to determine the milestones achieved in the process of implementation. Also, it is pivotal in assessing workflows, helps achieve goals and needs, and realize the benefits of the software (Roehrs et al., 2019). Besides, evaluation helps to identify and clarify unresolved issues. Essentially, the outcomes of the evaluation are used to come up with new initiatives to mitigate the problems and ensure the quality of care (Ryu et al., 2019). According to experts, the best time to evaluate the system is three to four weeks after it has been launched. The essential factors to consider while evaluating are network and infrastructure, the culture, and the EHR vendor.

Leadership Theories and Skills

Interprofessional is defined as multiple health workers from various professional backgrounds working together with families, patients, carers, and communities to deliver quality care (Vinks et al., 2020). Although some may argue that this has always been the healthcare practice, it is not rue since interprofessional collaboration is more than sharing of data and communication between team members but it requires all the care team members to engage with each other and patients for the good of the patients. Self-governance is a necessary leadership skill required by healthcare practitioners to establish autonomy and lead themselves. Healthcare professionals need to learn to share responsibilities. this way, it will foster differentiation as well as specialization of services. Leadership plays a crucial role in the delivery of quality care in healthcare and ensuring the services are patient-centered. EHR Implementation Week 6 Assignment

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References

Barclay, C., Viswanathan, M., Ratner, S., Tompkins, J., & Jonas, D. E. (2019). Implementing evidence-based screening and counseling for unhealthy alcohol use with Epic-based electronic health record tools. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety45(8), 566-574.

Carayon, P., Wetterneck, T. B., Cartmill, R., Blosky, M. A., Brown, R., Hoonakker, P., … & Wood, K. E. (2020). Medication safety in two intensive care units of a community teaching hospital after electronic health record implementation: sociotechnical and human factors engineering considerations. Journal of patient safety.

Epstein, R. H., Hofer, I. S., Salari, V., & Gabel, E. (2020). Successful Implementation of a Perioperative Data Warehouse Using Another Hospital’s Published Specification From Epic’s Electronic Health Record System. Anesthesia & Analgesia.

Fennelly, O., Cunningham, C., Grogan, L., Cronin, H., O’Shea, C., Roche, M., … & O’Hare, N. (2020). Successfully implementing a national electronic health record: a rapid umbrella review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 104281.

Hertzum, M., & Ellingsen, G. (2019). The implementation of an electronic health record: Comparing preparations for Epic in Norway with experiences from the UK and Denmark. International journal of medical informatics129, 312-317.

Roehrs, A., da Costa, C. A., da Rosa Righi, R., da Silva, V. F., Goldim, J. R., & Schmidt, D. C. (2019). Analyzing the performance of a blockchain-based personal health record implementation. Journal of biomedical informatics92, 103140.

Ryu, B., Shin, S. Y., Baek, R. M., Kim, J. W., Heo, E., Kang, I., … & Yoo, S. (2020). Clinical Genomic Sequencing Reports in Electronic Health Record Systems Based on International Standards: Implementation Study. Journal of medical Internet research22(8), e15040.

Vinks, A. A., Peck, R. W., Neely, M., & Mould, D. R. (2020). Development and Implementation of Electronic Health Record–Integrated Model‐Informed Clinical Decision Support Tools for the Precision Dosing of Drugs. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics107(1), 129-135. EHR Implementation Week 6 Assignment