To improve the services of the health care delivery system, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics has named the 8 core care delivery functions of the electronic health records. The descriptions and more information about the 8 core care are included in the new entitled “Key Capabilities of an Electronic Health Record Systems. ” These 8 core care summarizes the ones we discussed above about the functions and advantages of the implementation of EHR system.
The eight core care delivery functions include (Letter Report, 2003): Health Information and Data Result Management Order Management Decision Support Electronic Communication and Connectivity Patient Support Administrative Processes and Reporting Reporting and Pollution Health EHR in Military Electronic health care has also conquered the military world. The electronic health care system used is called AHLTA, which is a system that aims to provide fast and available information about the medical history of the military.
AHLTA is described as powerful because complete medical information is available on-line, anytime; AHLTA is legible because the information offered is complete, clear, and accurate; AHLTA is secured because access to the web site is limited to members only; AHLTA is efficient because its interoperability assures that expensive laboratory tests and file scanning are not duplicated. Military people can accessed their medical information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in any part of the globe. (AHLTA 2008) Selecting the Right EHR System Vendor (Adler 2005)
Dr. Kenneth Adler outlined 12 steps on how to choose an EHR vendor for hospital institutions. Adler designed these steps to help hospital institutions to make their plan of action in implementing the EHR system. Step 1 – Name the decision makers. Form the team who will decide on the issues concerning the implementation EHR system. Each member must exert extra effort to do readings and researching about the ups and downs of EHR system. The decision makers should have proven critical thinking skills. Step 2 – Make a list of the goals.
The group of decision makers should make a list of the reasons why they would like to avail the services of the EHR system. Study the list and re-arrange according to order of importance. This way, the group will be guided as to what must be prioritized. Step 3 – Create a request for proposal. The proposal will inform the vendor about the hospital institution, how big it is, what are the existing hardware facilities, how much is its financial statement, among others. Step 4 – Choose the recipients of proposal. Determine the vendors whom you might want to send the proposal.
Step 5 – Evaluate the request for proposal. Using the responses of the target vendors, evaluate the applicability of the request proposal against the requirements of the target vendors. Step 6 – Attend vendor demonstrations. With the group of the decision makers, attend the demonstrations each vendor will conduct to see how their system works. Step 7 – Identify three contact persons among the prospective vendors. These contact persons will be your resource persons regarding EHC. For queries, contact only these persons because they are already familiar with your request.
Step 8 – Rank or choose the top vendors. Basing from the responses of the vendors and the demonstrations, rank the prospective vendors that will most likely provide the best service in the EHR system. Step 9 – Plan a visit to the chosen top vendors. Visit chosen top vendors. Have them show how the EHR system applies to their companies. Observe how the authorized personnel make use of the EHR system. Step 10 – Choose the winner vendor. The group of decision makers has to choose the best among the vendors. Adler recommended to choose the top to vendors.
Should the first vendor fail to provide what the hospital institution needs, the decision makers still have second vendor to negotiate with. Step 11 – Strengthen organizational commitment. Be firm with the decision to implement the EHR system. Stand with the goals. Disseminate the information correctly and impose the benefits derived from using the EHR system. Step 12 – Negotiate with the chosen vendor. Start the negotiation. Finalize the contract and have both parties sign in conformance to specifications and terms written in the contract. Adler stressed that the selection of the best vendor takes a lot of time and effort.
Decisions are very vital. The decision makers have to think both ways, meaning they have to study both the advantages and the disadvantages of implementing or not of the electronic health record system. The decision makers must weigh everything and choose the best decision that will benefit the many. Conclusion In the year 2005, about 23. 9 % of physicians in the United States use the electronic health record system in their ambulatory services; while about 5% of the hospitals in the United States use computerized physician order entry. (Jha, A. K. , et. al. 2006)
By the year 2014, it is expected that all hospital institutions, regardless of size, have to implement the electronic health record system. The figure we have in the previous paragraph is quite low. Though 2014 is still far, if the States are determined to make hospital institutions 100% compliant to the electronic health record system, they must promote the system extensively. They must also provide financial assistance to those small hospital institutions because major changes in the way the management handles hospital operations will definitely change with the electronic health record system.
Proper trainings should be conducted to prepare all hospital institutions with the upcoming changes in their hospital management, in the hospital operations to be exact. The layout of the hospital will also be changed to accommodate the needed hardware of the electronic record system. Again, financial assistance is needed here. Changes have advantages and disadvantages. Weigh everything. Make sure the outcome will be for the betterment of everyone. Hospital care is very important. Many people rely on physicians and on their correct “verdict. ” Using accurate information and the help of technology, medical care will greatly improve.
Its services aim to satisfy all patients. So the decision makers have to think very critically to come up with the best electronic health record system that will serve its purpose for a long time.
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