The presented case study reflects on the implementation of a new facility that are referred to as Epic inpatient and outpatient system. It was stated that the current system of McKesson was used by the Southeast Medical Center for several years, yet it proved to be inconvenient and outdated. The case provides specific advantages of the implementation of Epic system such as cost-effectiveness, integration of inpatient and outpatient medical records, and achievement of meaningful use criteria.
Analysis
Considering the value of investments that are to be made by the Southeast Medical Center, it is possible to note that the offered Electronic Health Record (EHR) system focuses on timely and coordinated health care reports. First of all, it is necessary to point out that current EasyDoc system is not suffice to ensure appropriate quality of care as it lacks to deliver a comprehensive picture of a patient’s health. On the contrary, Epic ambulatory EHR coordinates inpatient and outpatient health records in order to create the complete presentation of a patient’s health status. Another essential benefit of Epic relates to the fact that it opens access to information so that a patient would be able to achieve it online. This factor would undoubtedly increase the awareness of a patient and improve collaboration with doctors.
Furthermore, in terms of cost-effectiveness, the application of Epic ambulatory system requires $ 120 million in total including both ownership and implementation costs. This estimated total cost seems to be adequate to change the whole system, thus enhancing the overall performance of the medical center. Focusing on the mentioned advantages, management of this medical institution targets to achieve better outcomes in large populations. For example, it is expected to improve well-being of those patients who suffer from chronic diseases. Both researchers and clinicians would develop their clinical research and care practices by employing the existing confidential patient data, innovative resources offered by Epic EHR, and evidence-based approach.
Conclusions
From the above observations, it becomes clear that Epic ambulatory system that was proposed to be implemented at the Southeast Medical Center is a highly-effective, timely, coordinated, and cooperative facility. This system is likely to cover all the areas of health care delivery, focusing on both inpatient and outpatient care. In its turn, the latter factor can significantly enhance the level of staff professionalism and the patients’ satisfaction. Also, the system can be referred to as an advantageous as it promotes evidence-based research and real-time care. Although Epic EHR system requires certain costs associated with technology investments, it is likely to save more funds, decrease medical errors, and change the existing processes.
Recommendations
Based on the mentioned advantages along with research that was provided to find relevant information, it also seems appropriate to point out that the implementation of this new facility requires sufficient training of staff so that they can use it accordingly. In order to prevent any misunderstandings associated with the application of this system, it is possible to recommend to engage staff in continuous development of their professional skills and knowledge. As a result, all the procedures that are to be managed with the help of Epic system including patient registration, medical records, and a range of others would be provided at a high level and meet the patients’ expectations. At this point, another recommendation is made by Davis and Khansa (2016) who state that the focus of training should be aimed at specialization. This means that it is essential to tailor training in order to achieve adequate utilization of the system at all levels. For example, physicians and cardiologists are to be trained with different focuses that can be identified based on their job requirements.
It can also be recommended to implement one more feature associated with online access of a patient to his or her medical information. In particular, it seems appropriate to design a private or group chat to let the patients ask about their health problems or discuss it with others, if required.
Questions
- It seems appropriate to use Epic metrics due to its potential value to the organization. As it was stated earlier in this paper, Epic system has several benefits that can improve the overall performance of the Southeast Medical Center and help it to achieve meaningful use criteria. The personnel and management are to be involved in the process of the implementation of this EHR. Every employee is to do his or her best to ensure the effective use of this system at a certain stage.
- The attributiveness of change can be specified by the application of different measures. For example, in the framework of Pettigrew that involves the evaluation of context, content, and process of organizational change, it is possible to identify its causes (Boonstra, Versluis, & Vos, 2014).
- The traditional Return on Investment (ROI) methods can be helpful to measure the outcomes of investments. In particular, the benefits and costs can be compared, and subsequent assessment of effectiveness can be made. The lack of ROI would show the unproductive performance of the organization, while high ROI rates would confirm the appropriateness of the system.
References
Boonstra, A., Versluis, A., & Vos, J. F. (2014). Implementing electronic health records in hospitals: A systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 370-375.
Davis, Z., & Khansa, L. (2016). Evaluating the epic electronic medical record system: A dichotomy in perspectives and solution recommendations. Health Policy and Technology, 5(1), 65-73.