Recommendations for Organization and Employees

IX:        Recommendations for Organization and Employees

Overcoming the Top Five Barriers to EHR Implementation

        Implementing an electronic health record (EHR) can be a grueling task filled with exhausting details and chores, making it a heavily scrutinized decision within the medical healthcare field. An article, written by Ted Matthews, was published in the Prognosis: Health Information Systems and attempts to tackle the top five barriers to an EHR implementation. In this paper, the top three will be discussed. If a hospital were to weigh out the positive impact that a system such as this could have for their working environment, the scrutiny would disappear, as there are far more benefits than there are drawbacks. As stated within the article, “adopting electronic health records will allow physicians, nurses, and clinicians to have greater access to patient information, allowing faster and more accurate diagnosis. Complete patient data helps ensure the best possible care.” However, having the right employees on the medical staff is critical in whether the implementation process is successful or not. Making sure that everyone on the staff has bought in on the process will make overcoming these barriers much easier to do.  

Barrier 1: I Don’t Know How to Get Started

        When beginning the implementation process, hospitals need to consider three things. Recommendation one is to set a timetable. Solidify a schedule with the board and the administrative staff to ensure that everyone on the management side is on the same page and working towards a common goal. Things to include within the schedule:

• Beginning the research process
• Identify a list of vendors
• Narrow down the vendors to no more than four options
• Select the vendor
• Present the vendor selection for board approval

Recommendation two is to select the right steering committee. Greater diversity in the implementation staff will allow for a broader perspective and can be more effective in determining the needs of the facility and its staff. Once the committee has been established, the next thing that should be done is to assign the various tasks and decide who will be responsible for each endeavor within the process.

Recommendation three is to determine the hospital’s individual needs for an EHR. These individual needs will emerge from within steering committee’s duties. Each hospital will have a distinct set of characteristics and attributes that will need to be highlighted in order to secure a strong assembly.

Barrier 2: My Staff Doesn’t Want to Do This

        Having strong support from your staff is one the most important aspects to have when undertaking a project of this magnitude. Some people may reject the notion of change because of the old habits that they have been set in. Below are some recommendations that will make “overcoming fears of the new change easier than it seems.”