Introduction
Vila Health Independence Medical Center lacks an integrated electronic health record, which presents the primary issue affecting the facility’s operations. System integration issues are experienced by the medical record officers, nursing staff, chief radiology services, and pharmacy officers. The system also cannot code information effectively due to problems with syncing and maintaining a unified database where patient information can be stored and retrieved, as is the case with the billing officer. The process has made it challenging for various medical practitioners to capture and store critical patient data, thereby easing and speeding up the patient’s treatment process (Lin et al., 2020).
Keeping records of the services provided in a hospital involves holding patient data from admission to discharge. Due to the various issues raised about the existing EHR system in the organization, the manager’s role is to liaise with the IT manager and the Billing officer to ensure that the necessary system adjustments are made for the facility’s effective operation.
Issues Identified
Implementing the integrated information system requires a comprehensive understanding of the roles of each team member and the effective use of the various tools available to enhance the flow of tasks and processes. Based on the case at the institution, the various departments are facing unique challenges that hinder their ability to execute tasks effectively. For example, the CEO perceives a need to develop a system that can significantly improve workflow efficiency, as the current system does not adequately meet the institution’s needs. The leadership recognizes that the system is slow and requires the use of other independent systems to enhance its effectiveness. In addition, the system utilizes bugs to enhance its effectiveness; however, it requires staff to manually execute certain tasks, such as billing suppliers, to achieve accurate results.
The system is also disintegrated, making it challenging to sync other wireless devices that would have enhanced its performance. The lack of a friendly user interface and system integration has posed a significant challenge in managing the inventory system. Interoperability, data retrieval, lack of integration, and challenges with the downstream systems are also considered issues that make it challenging for the different departments to execute their tasks. The issues linked with the system have created numerous challenges among critical departments. Such situations create the need to develop an improved system that not only meets the needs of the constituent departments but also coordinates their activities with those of other departments.
Addressing the Needs of the Stakeholders
The first step in addressing the needs of stakeholders is to identify their roles within the organization and how these roles impact the activities of other stakeholders. For this reason, stakeholders need to be educated on the various roles associated with their positions and how they can utilize their authority to influence the organization’s operations (Sittig et al., 2022).
Developing the stakeholder matrix is crucial for examining the various roles that individuals play within the organization. Such a tool plays a critical role in understanding how the different stakeholders impact the organization’s operations and how they can use their positions to enhance the working environment of others (Uslu & Stausberg, 2020). In addition, it enables the stakeholders to understand their roles within the HIM systems, their superiors, subordinates, technologies, systems, and software applications. Based on the analysis of the overall issues linked to the EHR systems, which directly impact patient outcomes in the facility, since all the services focus on enhancing care delivery.
Coordinating Education Programs and Implementing Workflow Changes
Understanding such roles and needs enables managers to acquire an integrated technology tailored to meet the needs of the different departments. The design of the systems to be applied in the facility will be based on the existing needs of the staff and their competency in using the systems when they are implemented. Since the system will be new and contain features unfamiliar to the workers, management plans to include a training session (Uslu & Stausberg, 2020).
Here, different stakeholders will be trained to utilize the various features of the systems to achieve coordinated services. Such a training program enables stakeholders to understand how to utilize the system, identify resources and their dependencies, and optimize the system (Lin et al., 2020). Through such knowledge, management can optimize the use of available resources by allocating them effectively.
Best Practices for Resource Allocation
Factors such as staff needs, resources, technology, and skills influence the allocation of resources for health information within the healthcare system. Staff must play a critical role in determining the resources a shareholder needs and the required resources for each stakeholder. Assessment of such factors is necessary to determine the types and quality of resources required by any staff to prevent waste (Sittig et al., 2022).
The available resources need to be assessed to ensure that management does not acquire unnecessary materials and that it does not waste funds by creating systems that do not meet the staff’s needs. The analysis of available technology is critical, as it may enable management to update existing systems or tailor them to meet the identified needs (Uslu & Stausberg, 2020). Lastly, staff skills are evaluated to ensure they can operate the systems once they are developed.
Leveraging Evidence to Overcome Barriers
The development of a new system should be based on the needs and challenges experienced by the staff. Different stakeholders should demonstrate a willingness to adopt a new system of tools, persistence in requesting changes, and perseverance with the existing system (Lin et al., 2020). According to the stakeholder matrix, the medical record supervisor, pharmacy manager, nursing staff, lab technician, and chief radiology service rely on the systems to keep track of the services they offer to the organization. Developing an integrated system enables all the stakeholders to effectively execute their services promptly, enhancing patient outcomes.
The new system will enable the billing officer to oversee the billing process, ensuring that CPT and ICD details are entered correctly. Similarly, the medical record supervisor can ensure the safekeeping of health records and collaborate with clinical staff to maintain efficient and organized clinical information. Other stakeholders, such as nursing staff, lab technicians, pharmacy managers, and chief radiologists, will also be able to use the system to keep records of their activities and retrieve the data whenever required. The integrated system will facilitate smooth operations and the easy sharing of vital patient information for effective service delivery.
Conclusion
An analysis of an EHR system plays a critical role in understanding the various challenges that affect the institution. The system examination identifies the needs of medical practitioners, providing an effective opportunity to develop better mechanisms to address the problem. Through the process, leaders can examine the issues that influence the integration of the different departments, making it easy for the organization to enhance production quality. Therefore, system evaluation is perceived as an essential tool that can continuously examine the effectiveness and implement the necessary changes.
References
Lin, H.-L., Wu, D.-C., Cheng, S.-M., Chen, C.-J., Wang, M.-C., & Cheng, C.-A. (2020). Association between Electronic Medical Records and healthcare quality. Medicine, 99(31). Web.
Sittig, D. F., Lakhani, P., & Singh, H. (2022). Applying requisite imagination to safeguard electronic health record transitions. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 29(5), 1014–1018. Web.
Uslu, A., & Stausberg, J. (2020). Value of the electronic medical record for hospital care: Update from the literature (preprint). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12). Web.