Step-by-Step Implementation
Implementing a technology such as EHR can be divided into eight stages, including the following. The first involves creating responsible persons who will be involved in the procedure. The second determines the implementation specifics, which may differ in input or output data, recording rules at a particular institution, and much more, and is included in the requirements list (Beeson, 2023). The next step is to formally define requests for information and proposals, which are standard after the team has researched available vendors (Beeson, 2023). The fourth stage involves analyzing received requests against the requirements list compiled in the second step.
After this, the team makes a short list of several applicants for the project. In the next step, the selected participants demonstrate their products, simulations, or presentations, based on which the responsible team makes the final selection. The agreement is reached in the seventh stage, which is filled with negotiation processes and various legal tasks, including contract drafting (Beeson, 2023). Finally, hardware and software implementation occur at the last stage, while employee training on the new system begins in parallel.
Challenges
Despite the advantages of implementing this system, it has several challenges that any medical institution may face. Seven such problems are identified, the first involving erroneous data entries arising from a specialist’s human factor or insufficient competence (Henry, 2018). In addition, due to its complexity, the system’s features may cause alert failures, leading to the wrong treatment being prescribed. The third problem is interoperability, which arises from an incorrect access system resulting from simultaneous EHR use across several departments.
Displaying and accessing information can pose threats to patients’ health due to a lack of proper specialist training or the peculiarities of the program itself, which were not taken into account during training or were only revealed later. Various technical problems, such as backdating, may not be detected by the system at the hardware or software level, leading to misinformation among specialists (Henry, 2018). Finally, such systems, due to their novelty and lack of implementation experience, have not previously received adequate support from medical institutions or providers; they do not always provide opportunities for timely reporting (Henry, 2018). To minimize risks, physicians should always use proven verification and reporting methods in the early stages of implementation.
References
Beeson, K. (2023). EHR Implementation Plan: Your 8-Step Checklist. EHR in Practice.
Henry, T. A. (2018). 7 EHR usability, safety challenges—and how to overcome them. American Medical Association.