Transforming Healthcare: The Benefits and Implementation of Electronic Health Records

Overview of TSF consultant management

TSF consultant management is a dedicated software consultant with many years of experience in the successful installation of electronic health record software in several medical facilities. TSF consultant Management Company is a registered company in the country under the registration of companies Act. The headquarters of TSF consulting management company in New York City. The company has built a fruitful and good rapport with many government departments, agencies, firms, NGOs among others both nationally and internationally. The application of electronic health records has been growing in recent years and this has seen the TSF consultant management company offering its services to many health centers and medical facilities. Many organizations are adopting electronic health records methods because of their numerous advantages over the manual method of data storage. To assist in the improvement and installation of electronic health records, TSF consultant management has promoted and championed the campaign of the technological shift from manual systems to electronic systems in record keeping. The TSF consulting Management Company has positioned itself in the market to work with both government and private organizations with a focus on revolutionizing the keeping of records in health care facilities.

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The importance of electronics health record and positive impacts

When the electronic health records are functional fully and are exchangeable, it offers many benefits more than manual records. The importance of electronic health records as highlighted by Walker (2005) include:

1. Increasing the participation of the patients in their care
2. Improving the convenience and quality of their care
3. Improving the coordination of care
4. Improving the health outcomes and diagnosis accuracy
5. Increasing cost savings and practice efficiencies.

Objectives of the software

1. To customize the software to the needs of the health care providers
2. To integrate all the healthcare systems using the software and improve coordination
3. To make it web-based to be accessible anywhere, on any operating system and any type of device
4. To be of meaningful use to the users, by engaging the families and the patients in the care, and not to create more problems
5. To improve care safety, quality, efficacy, and lastly to reduce health disparities
6. Improve the public and the population health
7. To ensure adequate security and privacy protections

Information system today Change in culture (computer culture)

The world has been transformed radically by digital technology, courtesy of the tablets, smartphones, and devices that are web-enabled which has transformed people’s daily lives and the way communication takes place. Lehmann (2006) observed that medicine is an enterprise that is rich in information. Electronic health records have created a more seamless and greater information flow within the infrastructure of digital health care. This leverages and encompasses digital progress and helps in transformation in the manner care is delivered and also delivered. With the presence of electronic health records software, information is made readily accessible and available to all parties wherever and whenever they require or it is needed.

The electronic health records software also enables physicians to automate the workflow. It also assists in customizable and flexible documentation of the patients. This is configured to complement the physician’s clinical approach and work style. The health care providers can use the visual notes designer in laying out their own notes and to their exact preference. Similarly, health care providers can utilize the third party tools such as speech and transcription to enter notes according to their desired workflow. Lastly, the flexible documentation helps in creating the auto-fill charge slip. The modifier codes, diagnosis, and procedure are sent directly to the tools for medical billing (Lehmann 2006).

Walker (2005) indicated that it also enables the physicians to view their patient’s information in their own way. They can scan allergy, problems lists, and medication in addition to reviewing the social, family, and medical histories within the same view. Furthermore, the physician can also configure the chart of the patient to their preference. Moreover, the electronic data software can be easily be organized to compliment the workflow of the heath care providers. For instance, the user-definable folders help in keeping the charts of the patients organized in folders that are similar to a paper chart. On the other hand, the role-based views and preferences enable each user and the provider to create custom preferences and views. Lastly, it enables the health care providers to view the charts in their own way. This is enabled by configuring the patient charts and organizing the information the way they desire it to look.

The electronic health records software also trend the health of patient across visits and over time. The custom and predefined flow sheers provide a table and graphical summary of the changing factors, from the vital signs of the patient or weight to the medications and treatments are given. Additionally, the results populate into flow sheets automatically (Walker 2005).

The electronic health records software also creates custom health plans. The maintenance plans and health protocols can be assigned to a group or individual patients. Similarly, the health watcher sends reminders automatically to the people and the physicians with the best practices of aware of the medical product and its side effects. According to NHS, before they are made available, vaccines have to be tested by MHRA (Medicines and healthcare and medical advice. For instance, the software will automatically alert nurses for prescription refills, appointments recall, and lab orders. It easily creates health plans that are customizable based on the parameter-based triggers, and clinical decision. The parameters may include lab results, diagnosis, age, and sex.

The electronic health records software also helps in analyzing, monitoring, and quantifying the population’s health. The use of customizable and built-in reports in analyzing and monitoring the populations of the patients. This improves the care quality and ensures there is consistency in care across the physicians’ practice. There is meaningful use of the reports which quickly track and review the achieved progress towards compliance meaningful use (Lehmann 2006). Moreover, there is an easily built list of patients with structured results and data. Lastly, the health analytics of the patient allows the health care provider to quantify their health care processes and outcomes.

The electronic health records software also receive and share the health information electronically. This enables the health care providers to coordinate care across the healthcare settings. Similarly, it also enables the management of their own health, and this is possible by empowering the patients. Therefore, the nurses and other health care providers to electronically exchange and receives orders, referrals, results, medical results, consults, and summaries among others. For instance, the software transmits electronically the health-related data to public health registries, immunization, and cancer registries. Moreover, managing the transition of care has been made easy because the patient clinical information can be shared with the outside hospital entries, next care provider, and also exchange of health information. Lastly, sharing of the information electronically enables the secure exchange of documents. The imaging and interfaced lab results flow to the chart of the patient automatically. This saves time for the patient and also to the physician (Walker 2005).

Competitive Advantages that the system will provide

Electronic health records have a competitive advantage over the manual keeping of records about more accuracy, faster, cheaper, productivity gain, and greater consistency. According to Lehmann (2006), paper-based records or the manual keeping of records requires a larger space for storage in comparison to digital records. Moreover, the costs of storing media such as film and paper per information unit differ significantly from the electronic media storage.

Walker (2005) indicated that when the paper storage is in different locations, bringing them to a single place for review by the provider of health care is complicated and time consuming. This process can be simplified with digital or electronic storage. Another example is suggested by Lehmann (2006), when paper-based records are needed in multiple locations, faxing, copying and the costs of transportation are significant in comparison to the duplication and transferring of the electronic records.

Walker (2005) also pointed out that the handwritten medical records can also be linked to poor legibility, and can also contribute to medical errors. However, the standardization of the abbreviations, the pre-printed forms, and the penmanship standards was encouraged in the medical field to improve the reliability of the medical paper records. Electronic records assist with the standardization of abbreviations, terminology, forms, and input of data. Furthermore, digitization of forms also facilitates data collection for clinical and epidemiological studies.

The electronic health records can also be updated continuously but within particular legal limitations. Lehmann (2006) argued that the ability to exchange records between different electronic medical records also referred to as “interoperability” would enhance the coordination of the delivery of health care in the health care facilities that are non-affiliated. Additionally, electronic system data can be used for statistical reporting anonymously in areas such as resource management, quality improvement, and the surveillance of the communicable diseases of the public health

Cost and benefit and their contrast

Walker (2005) pointed out that many studies estimate the purchasing and installation cost of electric health records to range between $15,000- $70,000 depending on the provider. The costs vary on the electronic health records depending on whether the organization selected web-based or on-site electronic health record deployment. The web-based deployment of HER also referred to as the software as a service, required the providers to pay the fixed monthly cost subscription. However, on-site deployment requires the providers to pay an ongoing cost to manage and support the data services of the onsite.

The average costs of the installation of the electronic health records software as estimated by the IT center of Michigan center are provided in the table below. The costs consist of the hardware, the HER software, implementation assistance, training, and the fee of the ongoing network maintenance (Lehmann 2006).

The help of Electronic health record software to Health First Medical health center

In health centers like Health First Medical, installation of the electronic health record software can assist very much. The following are various areas the software can benefit an organization as indicated by Walker (2005):

1. Potential savings

Installation of the software can help a health center in saving some of their costs. This is because of their improved efficiency which cut down costs that could have been incurred when the health center was using the paper-based record keeping

2. Quality improvement

Quality will improve with the installation of the electronic health record because of the integrated patients’ databases across a larger population. The integration will yield much information o the treatments which work best. Moreover, effectiveness will be realized by following patients over a span of many years. Lehmann (2006) asserted that the patients with complex health conditions will benefit from better coordination and communication. However, the quality will only be improved in a health center if they invest in training and also redesigning processes to make good use of the technology.

3. Increase care access

Lehmann (2006) indicated that the installation of the electronic health records software has the potential of increasing access to care to the health center. The advantage of storing the records of the patients electronically is when consulting with a physician, the distance becomes irrelevant. Through the installation of the software, the doctors can attend or communicates with the patients through email or telephone. This is beneficial to the patients in managing chronic diseases.

Software Activation or Utilization and Its Protection

After installation of the software, TSF consultant Management Company assists its clients to protect the software and the data in many ways. First of all, it helps in the creation of unlockable passwords that are secure. The company has password management software that helps its clients to void the risks of unauthorized people accessing the login information and accessing the health centers accounts.  Similarly, the TSF consultant Management Company provides private data activation for every individual working in the health care facilities. This will enable privacy and avoidance of tampering with the stored information by the individual health care provider.

Because electronic health records involve many parties, that is the families, paper will examine the systems of heath care in United States and Canada and try to make comparisons. In United States, the health care providers and the patients, protection of the clients’ data or information is very crucial to avoid legal problems. TSF consultant Management Company provides data protection services to their clients. To protect the data, TSF consultant management does the following as pointed out by Walker (2005):

1. Encourage the health care facilities to turn off their computers at night
2. Using of the password on the computers, when accessing the operating systems and the sensitive files and email attachments
3. Backing up the data of their clients
4. Running tests to test the backups at the interval
5. Securing the wireless networks of the healthcare facilities
6. Using a firewall or antivirus software on the computers
7. Removing metadata before sending files through emails
8. Moving of the “Reply to all” and the “Forward” buttons in the e-mail programs

Special security to the top officials is also provided to the health care centers. This is for the protection of the sensitive or for control of the general applications that are used by many people. Moreover, the electronic health resources software provided by TSF consultant Management Company has an application for picture identification of every client through file sharing. This is a smart software that does not just identify the basic information that is needed by the health care providers’ from a client, but it also verifies the information. Therefore, it prevents fraud as it confirms the client to the physician is who band whom they claim to be (Walker 2005).

For the protection of the installed electronic health records software, an antivirus is also installed for protection. The antivirus easily checks the computer systems for any virus or worms, it quickly finds out if the computers of the facility are at risk by detecting the threats that are in the running processes, and finally eradicates any malware in the computer systems (Walker 2005). Upon the request of the customers, TSF consultant Management Company also provides a virtual private network to enhance software and data protection. This will enable the organizations to benefit from their set policies, share information on the internet, and enhanced security. Lastly on the protection of data, the company in collaboration with the client organizations trains the employers how to use the software to avoid losses and to increase efficiency. This is done by educating the employees on the privacy policies and rules of using electronic health records. The training includes elaborating on who is allowed to access or use the equipment, the requirement of password protection, logging off procedures and securing the organization’s equipment, email usage, protection of the organization’s sensitive information, and requirements for data transfer (Lehmann 2006).

The difference between customizing and off-the-shelf software

Steps in carrying out HER software installation by TSF consultant Management Company

In carrying out the installation of the software, TSF consultant Management Company uses the following six-step road map as suggested by Walker (2005).

1. Assessment: In this stage, a project team is formed comprising of members of the clines organization and the staff of TSF consultant Management Company. The team regularly meet and conduct an assessment of the office and the equipment
2. Planning: Reviewing of the data collected during the assessment stage. The electronic health records implementation objectives are defined, in addition to, identifying improvement opportunities
3. Selection: This covers the configuration of an EHR system, the process of selection, and the objectives achieved based on the selection. Moreover, selection of the HER system is done in this stage
4. Implementation: implementation plan is formulated, with the timelines agreed upon with TSF consultant Management Company. This includes installation, the configuration of the software, and the hardware. Furthermore, training of staff and testing is conducted.
5. Evaluation: conduction of post-implementation review and experiences are updated.
6. Improvement: modification of EHR is done to resolve encountered issues during the evaluation stage.

 Conclusion

In conclusion, EHR is the best way health care organizations should adopt to automate healthcare delivery. There are many benefits of the HER system compared to the manual keeping of records as outlined in the discussion. Furthermore, it is cheap and cost-effective in addition to a high level of security and protection of the data. To revolutionize the healthcare sector, the adoption of HER systems is the best way to go.

References

Lehmann, H. P. (2006). Aspects of electronic health record systems. New York, Springer. Accessed from http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/0-387-34001-7.

Walker, J. M., Walker, J. M., Bieber, E. J., & Richards, F. (2005). Implementing an electronic health record system. London, Springer. Accessed from http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=303743.

Herman Bailey

With a student-centered approach, I create engaging and informative blog posts that tackle relevant topics for students. My content aims to equip students with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed academically and beyond.