A Physician Group Looking To Purchase an EHR System



A Physician Group Looking To Purchase an EHR System

Introduction

The electronic health records are an important intervention in the history of United States' Health care system. The purpose of implementation of this system is also to concisely store concurrent, retrospective and prospective information in an efficient system (Hayrinen, Saranto & Nykanen, 2008). The electronic health records the most innovative and a revolutionizing concept in the health care system of United States health care system. It is known as a bank of information of patients from different acute and chronic problems (Tsiknakis, 2002). The networking of this information is essential for the collection of demographic data, governmental press releases, medication and allergies history summary, radiology and laboratory tests, age, weight, gender and immunization history of the patients.

A merger of two pre-existing hospitals, to form a new hospital named ABC General Hospital, is done in the XYZ County in United States. The physicians of the hospital are looking for an effective electronic health record system. There are many requirements of the committee which is formulated to identify the needs and implement the system accordingly. IT Company has proposed to make the health record system. The committee is in the process of assessing the needs of hospital with special focus on the requirements of individual wards such as Intensive care units, gynecological ward and emergency ward (Ash, 2005). A series of phases of testing, re-testing, identifying errors, rectification, implementation and trial-error methods will be carried out. The whole process has to be administered and monitored by a steering committee. This steering committee is not only comprised of a group of physicians, but also different professionals working and contributing in the ABC General Hospital for the provision of quality care.

Discussion

Current Evaluation and Future Plans: Needs Assessment & Planning

The current system has to be evaluated for the factors that are negatively affecting the quality of care in the hospitals. Since, it is an inception of a new Hospital; the system has to be one of a kind so that brand new standard of quality can be set. A mapping will be done to comply with the phases of health information technology. Moreover, the future plan should be clear in the minds of all committee members.

Important Elements to be Considered in Needs Assessment

To facilitate this process of needs assessment, assessment surveys can also be conducted among the group of physicians working in the hospital. This will help the committee assess the requirements of the member. Eventually, the EHR system can be customized accordingly.

Importance of Needs Assessment

Needs Assessment is necessary to improve the quality of care which is provided to patients. The happiness and satisfaction of patients is the prime objective of any hospital. If needs are not assessed, the future EHR system may not be in accordance with the requirements of the staff or users. This may increase the chances of errors.

The already present system in this hospital is the paper record ...