Assisting Health Professionals with the Transition to EHR

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According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, new electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs will provide payments to eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals if they “implement or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). A major challenge today facing leaders in healthcare is overcoming the resistance from healthcare professionals with becoming accustomed to technological advancements, specifically EHR.

Benefits

In a crisis, EHRs can allow immediate access to patient information including medical history, allergies, and medications. The National Center for Health Statistics conducted a recent study that found over 71% of healthcare leaders who adopted EHRs indicated they would purchase the EHR system again (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2014). Additional benefits of using EHR include cost savings, accurate diagnosis and prescribing, efficient care coordination, increased patient participation and safety, and the ability to transition data amongst various healthcare organizations. Researchers at the Center for IT Leadership examined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs adoption of EHRs, and estimated the individual savings from preventing adverse drug events totaled to $4.6 billion dollars’ worth of savings (Health IT, 2014).

Challenges

Despite the vast benefits EHRs offer, many leaders in the healthcare are having distress supporting physicians, pharmacist, nurses, and therapist with transitioning to the regular use of EHR. Support with the transformation is essential because an unsuccessful implementation will not produce the intended benefits or outcomes such as error reduction or improved quality (Successful Work...

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