Is your EHR meaningful use–compliant? Healthcare providers may soon be able to find out for sure. Earlier this spring, HHS released the proposed rule for establishing certification programs for health information technology (HIT). The rule describes the creation of a certification program for EHRs, as mandated by the HITECH Act. (The rule is published in the March 10 Federal Register.)
Upcoming EHR meaningful use subsidies may give many hospitals the additional incentive necessary to push toward a largely paperless existence. Some facilities may be adopting their first electronic systems at this time. Others currently operating in a hybrid environment are likely looking to increase their EHR technologies to meet soon-to-be-finalized meaningful use measures.
What is work flow? One of the most common questions I am asked when doing EHR implementation consulting is, "Can you define what work flow is?" I think part of the reason people ask me that question is because of the emphasis I put on the importance of work flow as part of any basic automation initiative. Good work flow support can make the difference between a successful project and one that fails, because it can make or break staffing-level projections due to being designed well (efficient work flow) or poorly (thus the "worry" flow).
Divisions between HIM and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) staff members are common. But in actuality, everyone needs to work together for the success of the whole. "It's not an us vs. them concept, it's a we concept,"
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (MHHS) in Houston includes nine acute care hospitals, one children's hospital, three long-term acute care hospitals, three specialty care hospitals, 21 regional affiliates, a home health agency, a retirement/nursing center, 10 ambulatory surgery centers, 21 imaging centers—and only one HIM department.
Prior to July 1, 2008, however, that was not the case. MHHS' medical records/HIM departments used to be facility- based. Each hospital had its own medical records department, its own coders, and its own vendors. But MHHS' leadership recognized that in an era when cost savings are a must, this model was not as efficient as it could be. A restructuring of the department was in order.
On December 30, 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology published the interim final rule for EHR certification standards, and on January 13, CMS issued the proposed rule on the EHR Meaningful Use Incentive Program and meaningful use standards in the Federal Register.
Just getting started with your transition to an EHR? Consider these five tips from experts in the field as well as some of the providers who’ve been in your shoes.
Despite common knowledge that hybrid systems are worse than either fully paper or electronic records, we continue to see proliferation of models implemented that promote the hybrid record as an extended transition strategy; however, with proper planning, you can avoid entering into a hybrid state.
