The Importance of Electronic Health Record (EHR) system

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Introduction
The practice manager of a medical facility is in charge of many aspects of the organization. This includes responsibilities concerning staff hiring, resolution of labor conflicts, development of policies, arranging employee benefits, maintenance of facility equipment, monitoring of government regulation compliance, etc. This paper will focus on one of the many responsibilities of a practice manager, which involves proper handling and storage of medical records in the medical facility.
The Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is important in a medical facility because it contains all the patients' records and health information. The information includes but is not limited to the following: patient demographics, medical history, vital signs, progress notes, diagnoses, immunization/vaccination records, allergies, medications, lab tests and results, diagnostic images, health problem list, and payment/billing record. It is a digital platform or space that holds all the essential details to provide quality health care to patients. There are also a lot of benefits that the effective use of EHR systems in a medical facility can offer, such as great improvement in clinical outcomes, promotes research opportunities concerning health and medical sciences, and overall improvement in the long-term efficiency of the operations (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). In addition, the level of quality care will also be elevated on different levels because having an effective EHR system and implementation will improve the accuracy and efficiency of documentation which also involves diagnosis, tracking, and management of medications of patients to prevent risks accompanied by different drug interactions, scheduling of treatments in a timely manner, providing better support in making clinical and point-of-care decisions, and coordinating with the assigned organization regarding claims submission (Hoden, 2020).
Key Features
In deciding to pursue a change in EHR systems, it is vital to have a clear understanding of the different features and aspects of a system that is vital and beneficial in the way that the medical facility functions. Making decisions regarding the EHR system also requires consideration of the medical facility itself. It will be beneficial to note that the physician cardiology group is a large medical organization.
The new EHR system needs to deliver the basic expectations from every HER system, which is to keep patient’s data, manage results, perform administrative processes, and promote electronic communication and connectivity. These will require features such as the following:
* A cloud-based system to ensure the accessibility of the important health information of the patients to their respective physicians, including the patients themselves.
* A system that can consolidate multiple patient records into an organized file that supports accurate and up-to-date health information input.
* There should be reliable training and support catered to the main stakeholders who will be using the new system to prevent misuse and errors.
* Data backups and storage should be made available to prevent the loss of important information regarding the health/medical records of the patients.
* A system that will keep data secure and a protocol that will address the potential breach in security.
* A stable vendor of the EHR system is vital in establishing good communication and teamwork to produce the desired quality outcomes (Jason, 2021).
Integrating EHR into Practice
There are certain steps and careful planning required to successfully integrate the new EHR system into the large facility. This will involve the following steps:
1 The assembly of an implementation team that is also representative of each department because they will be the ones to guide and facilitate the implementation and training and identify the various challenges that each department will face.
2 Preparation and checking of software, ensuring that it is complying and will not violate the HIPAA rules.
3 Identification of the hardware that will be suitable for the EHR system, with consideration to the cost and use in practice.
4 Mapping out of the workflow and room layout to maximize efficiency while also catering to the needs of the patients. The positioning of the computer, physician, administrative staff, and patient should focus on this part.
5 Transferring patient data to the new EHR system is one of the most important steps in the integration.
6 Establishing the workflow includes highlighting the necessary aspects, right order, and staff availability and skill to promote efficiency and productivity.
7 Preparation for possible technical difficulties with the system to lessen the negative impact that it can possibly have on the workload, productivity, and patient care.
8 A reliable training program and support system for all the users is important to ...