BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING EMR H E A L T H C A R E S O L U T I O N S

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1 0 BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING EMR H E A L T H C A R E S O L U T I O N S

2 10 BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPLEMENTING EMR IMPORTANCE OF EMR IMPLEMENTATION Meaningful use continues to be a driving force in EMR (electronic medical record) implementation. Surveys from the American Hospital Association and CDC s National Center for Health Statistics in 2010 indicated that 81 percent of hospitals and 41 percent of office-based physicians were already planning to achieve meaningful use and qualify for incentive payments. These federal incentives will begin decreasing incrementally in 2012, in preparation for the 2015 implementation deadline. EMR systems will ultimately lead to better integration of medical records across healthcare organizations. EMR systems can improve record keeping, billing and claims management. Benefits can include: Improved patient care and providers ability to make better-informed decisions Reduced storage necessary to keep paper charts Aggregated patient data that makes it easier to share with multiple providers Accessible records from remote locations Portability between various clinics in a healthcare group Continuity of care Centralization of health history As healthcare organizations upgrade to EMR systems, they will face new challenges. The following are ten key best practices identified from primary and secondary research including online surveys and case study analysis.

3 GARNER SUPPORT FROM HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES 1Strong backing from hospital executives gives credibility to the EMR implementation project and ultimately improves end-user engagement. Holding management led meetings to inform users about the project and status help reinforce executive support. This can ultimately lead to improved support from hospital staff. INVOLVE THE STAFF AT ALL LEVELS 2Gaining contribution from key stakeholders is critical for the adoption of new technology. Organizations should create a steering committee or multi-functional team to identify the requirements for the new EMR system. This engages stakeholders at all levels, including the physicians and nurses, as well as IT professionals. This team can evaluate software packages and determine the wants and needs of the healthcare facility or private practice. The clinicians chosen to the steering committee should represent a typical cross-section of users, not just those who are the most technologically savvy. 1

4 ANALYZE & REDESIGN WORKFLOWS 3It is important to understand how the new system will impact and automate existing work processes. Organizations will need to realign and standardize procedures across the organization to accommodate the new technology. Leveraging an interdisciplinary workflow group to assess departmental processes and make changes, can help to ensure that the system aligns with procedures. Organizations should evaluate and correct inefficient or ineffective processes prior to implementation. Process mapping should be conducted at each level to understand how the nursing staff, for instance, is utilizing paper charts to administer medication and care. This helps to ensure that the new system doesn t create additional work, but rather makes their process more efficient. Taking each process that will be automated and working it through a systematic correlation with future processes eliminates bottlenecks and system-imposed procedures that are counterproductive. PROVIDE TRAINING MULTIPLE AND VARIED OPPORTUNITIES 4Prior to EMR implementation, organizations should create an effective training plan. T h i s p l a n should include the initial formal training providing users with a basic operational knowledge of the system. Additionally, users should then participate in refined training based on user group roles to provide specific perspective on real-life, day-to-day activities. 2 Kforce Healthcare Solutions

5 IDENTIFY & TRAIN A TEAM OF SUPER USERS 5Organizations should create a group of super users from high-performing, technologically-proficient staff. This group should be distributed throughout the healthcare organization to provide educational and on-call support to physicians, care providers and other active users. This additional layer of support will become increasingly important on the go-live day. Super users can be stationed at each patient unit to assist with questions or procedures and provide shoulder-to-shoulder support while completing rounds with physicians. BEGIN WITH A PILOT IMPLEMENT A PHASED APPROACH 6Beginning with a pilot program allows organizations to evaluate processes and adopt a pace they can effectively support. This can ease the transition by implementing only one module at a time. Pilots can alleviate frustration and resistance that can often be associated with quick change. Pilot participants can then help with integration throughout implementation. The phased approach allows for user testing prior to go-live. This can help ensure that each location s systems and personnel are prepared for implementation. Another advantage to a pilot approach, is that IT vendors can complete performance testing to ensure the systems can handle large amounts of data transfers. 3

6 IDENTIFY AN ADVOCATE TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS 7It is vital to engage a physician advocate early on during the software package selection to support process. The physician advocate will receive advanced training and can help lend credibility to the system as well as encourage primary users to embrace the change. COMMUNICATE CONSISTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS 8Effective communication helps stakeholders understand the importance and goal of EMR implementation. Project communication also provides those involved with consistent expectations of the desired outcome. Good project communications will help clarify the tactical activities expected of the users over the course of the project. LEVERAGE VENDORS AND OUTSIDE RESOURCES 9Selecting the right project support vendor can be a key factor in ensuring the implementation of an effective support structure. By leveraging outside resources to perform day-to-day activities, organizations can free up internal resources to focus on project implementation. Additionally, utilizing staff augmentation during the pilot phases, allows organizations to bring on temporary super users and reduce the strain on the EMR physician advocate and in-house IT staff. This allows them to focus on long-term stabilization. 4 Kforce Healthcare Solutions

7 BUILD A GO-LIVE SWARM TEAM FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION 10 To help ensure adequate support, organizations should create a team that is housed in a centralized environment where issues can be identified and communicated to the appropriate person or department for resolution. Having the entire team in a single room or area fosters teamwork and creates awareness of issues as they arise. Additionally, the SWARM team will provide a centralized location for outbound issue status and communications. ABOUT THE AUTHOR KEITH FULMER, VP KFORCE HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS Keith Fulmer, MHSA, PMP leads the Healthcare Solutions division for Kforce Inc. He is responsible for identifying and developing human capital solutions for the healthcare industry. Fulmer has been with Kforce since 1999, holding various positions including vice president of operations for health and life sciences, manager of business solutions and technology, as well as director of business and technology. In addition to his work at Kforce, Fulmer also sits on the board of directors for a medical imaging services company. Contact Keith Fulmer at [email protected] 5

8 HEALTHCARESOLUTIONS ABOUT KFORCE Kforce Healthcare Solutions focuses on providing project consultants, as well as permanent placement services for: Health Information Technology (HIT) Health Information Management (HIM) Revenue Life Cycle Kforce works with more than 500 healthcare providers, including many of the nation s top Honor Roll Hospitals, major healthcare insurers and a large segment of national consulting firms focused on the healthcare community. Our resources can support technology upgrades, new clinical information systems, coding backlogs and other business challenges. We also offer consultative services for Electronic Medical Records/Electronic Health Records (EMR/EHR) integration, ICD-10 implementation and audit events. Contact Phone US TODAY [email protected]