Electronic health record (EHR) systems, “an electronic version of a patient’s medical history, that is maintained by the provider over time, and may include all of the key administrative clinical data relevant to that persons care under a particular provider” (CMS, 2012) have taken the next steps in improving patient care. Dr. Robert Halsted, the Medical Director and Chief Medical Informatics Officer, advises that “implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system facilitated this rapid growth and has been an important factor in recruiting highly qualified providers” (HealthIT, 2012). Dr. Robert Halsted implemented Nextgen Practice management system to Patients First, a medical practice established in 1998 servicing 21 locations in six east-central Missouri counties (HealthIT, 2012), as a result there has been an increase in providers leading to rapid growth in patients serviced at the practices. This has led Dr. Halsted to experience concerns with providing quality care and coordination of care across the growing practices.
Keeping in mind patients as partners, the implementation of the patient portal will allow patients to feel more control over their care and how it is managed. The Nextgen patient portal was implemented in August 2010 and served three core functions:
· Providing patients with an electronic clinical summary,
· Providing timely access to lab results, and
· Providing secure messaging with clinical and office staff. (HealthIT, 2012).
EHR has a streamlined approach to improving patient care that has benefited both the patient and provider, “the implementation experience has provided limited flexibility to customize their use of the portal, rely mostly on secure messaging, whereas others use it on a more limited basis and there is a surprised response to how the elderly have adapted to the use of the portal” from a provider’s standpoint (HeallthIT, 2012). Whereas the patient sees the convenience in how the “clinical summary can be shared with family members and the reduced burden associated with receiving lab results and obtaining medication refills and how there is always assistance from the help desk that is readily available to provide remote help if needed” (HealthIT, 2012).
The implementation of an EHR system would benefit my clients in achieving control of how their data is handled to provide quality care. The results of implementing an EHR system has resulted in 15,400 patients enrolling in the patient portal and has upgraded its use by making appointments, requests medication refills, and questions addressed through the portal. There were challenges in how patients were advised of the implementation of the EHR system as SPAM stored most of their messages.
As technology and health care continue to merge and provide convenience for both the provider and their patients, patient care will continue to see improvements that will affect costs and its delivery. “Some of these technologies are going to transform our whole approach to illness and health – in the same way, that the nineteenth century development of anesthetics changed society’s moral approach to pain (Thimbleby, 2013). The implementation process has shown us that the promotion of changes would reach a broader patient audience and providers should consider writing notes in layman terms to allow patients to understand clearly the intent of their care.
Resources
CMS.gov. (2012) Electronic Health records. (2012). Electronic Health Records | CMS
HealthIT.gov (2012). Viewing Patients as Partners: Patient Portal Implementation and Adoption.Viewing Patients as Partners: Patient Portal Implementation and Adoption | HealthIT.gov
Thimbleby H. (2013). Technology and the future of healthcare. Journal of public health research, 2(3), e28. Technology and the future of healthcare | Journal of Public Health Research
Keeping in mind patients as partners, the implementation of the patient portal will allow patients to feel more control over their care and how it is managed. The Nextgen patient portal was implemented in August 2010 and served three core functions:
· Providing patients with an electronic clinical summary,
· Providing timely access to lab results, and
· Providing secure messaging with clinical and office staff. (HealthIT, 2012).
EHR has a streamlined approach to improving patient care that has benefited both the patient and provider, “the implementation experience has provided limited flexibility to customize their use of the portal, rely mostly on secure messaging, whereas others use it on a more limited basis and there is a surprised response to how the elderly have adapted to the use of the portal” from a provider’s standpoint (HeallthIT, 2012). Whereas the patient sees the convenience in how the “clinical summary can be shared with family members and the reduced burden associated with receiving lab results and obtaining medication refills and how there is always assistance from the help desk that is readily available to provide remote help if needed” (HealthIT, 2012).
The implementation of an EHR system would benefit my clients in achieving control of how their data is handled to provide quality care. The results of implementing an EHR system has resulted in 15,400 patients enrolling in the patient portal and has upgraded its use by making appointments, requests medication refills, and questions addressed through the portal. There were challenges in how patients were advised of the implementation of the EHR system as SPAM stored most of their messages.
As technology and health care continue to merge and provide convenience for both the provider and their patients, patient care will continue to see improvements that will affect costs and its delivery. “Some of these technologies are going to transform our whole approach to illness and health – in the same way, that the nineteenth century development of anesthetics changed society’s moral approach to pain (Thimbleby, 2013). The implementation process has shown us that the promotion of changes would reach a broader patient audience and providers should consider writing notes in layman terms to allow patients to understand clearly the intent of their care.
Resources
CMS.gov. (2012) Electronic Health records. (2012). Electronic Health Records | CMS
HealthIT.gov (2012). Viewing Patients as Partners: Patient Portal Implementation and Adoption.Viewing Patients as Partners: Patient Portal Implementation and Adoption | HealthIT.gov
Thimbleby H. (2013). Technology and the future of healthcare. Journal of public health research, 2(3), e28. Technology and the future of healthcare | Journal of Public Health Research
