Care Coordination Improved through Health Information Exchange
The focus of this case study was to improve quality and efficiency care coordination at Coastal Women’s Healthcare. By transitioning all client charts to be electronic the Quality Improvement Goal was to use the Health Information Exchange (HIE) connection to better coordinate patient care with other providers. This process was sectioned into 2 different stages. The first stage was to educate staff at Coastal Women’s healthcare which included doctors, nurse practitioners, staff nurses and office staff. Staff had to learn how to chart client visits and update charts to show accurate up to date information regarding client care. Also clients had to be instructed on how to access the client portal to access medical records, pay for services and schedule appointments. In the second stage of this transition primary care physicians along with specialists will be able to access client’s charts across the border which will allow even better care coordination for the patient as not all facilities have switched over to this electronic service yet offered.
HealthInfoNet sent an HIE implementation team to help staff notify and update over 10,000 patient charts. Also the data collected was able to help keep clients medication list up to date. Documentation was tracked to see if client’s dosage was changed from last visit. By doing so and switching to electronic charts the CEO stated “By measuring and reporting on care coordination measures, we have been able to improve our processes. The data gathered by the EHR dashboard also enable us to know, for example, which providers have updated their notes in the system and to share that information with other providers,”- Bev Neugebauer. By switching to electronic charting Coastal Women’s healthcare facility was able to cut down on cost including the cost of paper and has also helped with accurate and up to date scheduling which has cut down on missed appointments.
In my current job for all charting purposes we use electronic medical records (EMR). Working in homecare one of the most important things we look for or need to know when going into a client’s home is if the client has signed a DNR or not. This is a very beneficial piece of information as we have to honor the client’s wishes and also don’t want to receive backlash from a law suit. My company has not completely switched to electronic charting in all aspects as client still have to call into the office to schedule a visit or make a payment on their account however all charting and client care information is all done electronic on a lap top in the clients home during the visit. I think for my organization it would be a huge game changer if we were able to do all aspects of our job electronic online and clients were able to access schedules and care team information from the comforts of their home and on their computer instead of calling into the office.
When implementing new procedures there is always a learning curve. For instance the team members at Coastal Women’s healthcare facility had to learn how to use a whole new system. Some caught on faster than others and those were called super users who then had to teach other team members how to access and navigate the system. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t at that point the organization how to re visit the subject to see if the pros out way the cons and see if the new procedure is beneficial to them as whole or if restructuring is needed.
References
Care Coordination Improved through Health Information Exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://www.healthit.gov/case-study/care-coordination-improved-through-health-information-exchange
Temel, J. S., Greer, J. A., Admane, S., Solis, J., Cashavelly, B. J., Doherty, S., . . . Pirl, W. F. (2010). Code status documentation in the outpatient electronic medical records of patients with metastatic cancer. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(2), 150-153. doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1161-z
O'malley, A.,S., Grossman, J. M., Cohen, G. R., Kemper, N. M., & Pham, H. H. (2010). Are electronic medical records helpful for care coordination? experiences of physician practices. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(3), 177-85. doi:http://dx.doi.org.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/10.1007/s11606-009-1195-2
The focus of this case study was to improve quality and efficiency care coordination at Coastal Women’s Healthcare. By transitioning all client charts to be electronic the Quality Improvement Goal was to use the Health Information Exchange (HIE) connection to better coordinate patient care with other providers. This process was sectioned into 2 different stages. The first stage was to educate staff at Coastal Women’s healthcare which included doctors, nurse practitioners, staff nurses and office staff. Staff had to learn how to chart client visits and update charts to show accurate up to date information regarding client care. Also clients had to be instructed on how to access the client portal to access medical records, pay for services and schedule appointments. In the second stage of this transition primary care physicians along with specialists will be able to access client’s charts across the border which will allow even better care coordination for the patient as not all facilities have switched over to this electronic service yet offered.
HealthInfoNet sent an HIE implementation team to help staff notify and update over 10,000 patient charts. Also the data collected was able to help keep clients medication list up to date. Documentation was tracked to see if client’s dosage was changed from last visit. By doing so and switching to electronic charts the CEO stated “By measuring and reporting on care coordination measures, we have been able to improve our processes. The data gathered by the EHR dashboard also enable us to know, for example, which providers have updated their notes in the system and to share that information with other providers,”- Bev Neugebauer. By switching to electronic charting Coastal Women’s healthcare facility was able to cut down on cost including the cost of paper and has also helped with accurate and up to date scheduling which has cut down on missed appointments.
In my current job for all charting purposes we use electronic medical records (EMR). Working in homecare one of the most important things we look for or need to know when going into a client’s home is if the client has signed a DNR or not. This is a very beneficial piece of information as we have to honor the client’s wishes and also don’t want to receive backlash from a law suit. My company has not completely switched to electronic charting in all aspects as client still have to call into the office to schedule a visit or make a payment on their account however all charting and client care information is all done electronic on a lap top in the clients home during the visit. I think for my organization it would be a huge game changer if we were able to do all aspects of our job electronic online and clients were able to access schedules and care team information from the comforts of their home and on their computer instead of calling into the office.
When implementing new procedures there is always a learning curve. For instance the team members at Coastal Women’s healthcare facility had to learn how to use a whole new system. Some caught on faster than others and those were called super users who then had to teach other team members how to access and navigate the system. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t at that point the organization how to re visit the subject to see if the pros out way the cons and see if the new procedure is beneficial to them as whole or if restructuring is needed.
References
Care Coordination Improved through Health Information Exchange. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://www.healthit.gov/case-study/care-coordination-improved-through-health-information-exchange
Temel, J. S., Greer, J. A., Admane, S., Solis, J., Cashavelly, B. J., Doherty, S., . . . Pirl, W. F. (2010). Code status documentation in the outpatient electronic medical records of patients with metastatic cancer. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(2), 150-153. doi:10.1007/s11606-009-1161-z
O'malley, A.,S., Grossman, J. M., Cohen, G. R., Kemper, N. M., & Pham, H. H. (2010). Are electronic medical records helpful for care coordination? experiences of physician practices. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(3), 177-85. doi:http://dx.doi.org.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/10.1007/s11606-009-1195-2