Electronic Health Records (EHR) Programs

Implementing Meaningful Use 

 

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Programs

Introduction

EHR is described as the digital approach of recording patient’s health information. Electronic Health Records are present, patient-centered credentials that make data accessible and protected to certified caregivers (Brooks et al., 2019). Although an EHR does include the medicinal management data of patients, an EHR scheme is developed past normal medical statistics gathered in a medical workplace. The EHR can be comprehensive of a more inclusive perception of patient care. The EHR contains a patient’s health history, medication, diagnosis, therapy plans, vaccination dates, radiology images, allergies, and laboratory test outcomes (Brooks et al., 2019).  The Electronic Health Records incentive program permits access to evidence-based implements that providers can utilize to construct decisions in regards to patient outcome. The EHR is considered to provide automate and modernized workflow in healthcare institutions.

One of the significant characteristics of an Electronic Health Record is that health data can be developed and administered by authorized provides across more than one healthcare institution (Lake, 2020). Electronic Health Records are designed to share data with other health caregivers and organizations, including; laboratories, medical imaging institutions, specialists, emergency institutions, pharmacies, schools, and workplace clinics. All these departments contain data from all clinicians concerned in the patient's care (Penner, 2016). Even though the meaningful use plan in the US was part of a triumphant effort to introduce in EHRs, it was unpopular with healthcare givers, who had to meet different requirements to prove meaningful use.

According to recent studies, in 2018, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services renamed EHR programs to Medicare and Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Programs. The general objective of meaningful use was to enhance the collaboration between medical and community healthcare (Lake, 2020). The plan was developed to strengthen patient-centric precautionary care and encourage the unrelenting advance of dynamic, consistent information exchange. Through the utilization of the digital incentive program, a healthcare organization can help develop a healthier future for nations.

In an effort administered by both CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the EHR program was set into action and divided into three significant stages. Nonetheless, ONC and CMS developed such incentive programs to motivate qualified professionals and qualified healthcare institutions to adopt and employ Certified Electronic Records Technology (CEHRT) in agreement with their criteria. 

Stages of EHR/Meaningful use

Stage 1

According to medical studies, stage one of the meaningful use centers on endorsing the completion of certified CEHRT (Lake, 2020). This introduction phase recognizes requirements for the electronic capture of medical information and providing patients access to electronic copies regarding their health data.

Stage 2

Studies indicate that stage two expand upon stage one criterion by cheering the meaningful use of CEHRT. Stage two centers on care coordination and sharing of patient data (Lake, 2020). Over the years, it has increased the threshold of criterion observance and introduced supplementary health resolution making support, care synchronization, and patient commitment policies. 

Stage 3

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Information from CMS and ONC studies indicate that the third stage centers on utilizing CEHRT to enhance positive results (Lite, Gordon & Stern, 2020). This can be achieved through; implementing secured healthiness statistics, e-prescribing, health decision support, automated provider entry, patient-provider access, coordinated care through patient participation, sharing health information registry, and case forwarding.

Breaking down procedures into phases made it more feasible to implement and lessened the likelihood of overwhelming healthcare givers.

Barriers and challenges of EHR

The implementation of the Electronic Health Records program is considered as a complicated step that necessitates a wide range of institutional and technological factors (Lake, 2019). These often include social skills, managerial structure, traditions, technical infrastructure, monetary resources, and synchronization (Lite, Gordon & Stern, 2020).  According to different studies, implementing meaningful use in healthcare institutions is more challenging than elsewhere due to the complexity of medical information, data entry difficulties, security and discretion concerns, and a wide-ranging lack of awareness of the remuneration of Information Technology (IT).

According to researchers, the implementation of the EHR program is the most challenging stage. Two significant barriers make healthcare institutions fail to implement meaningful use (Lite, Gordon & Stern, 2020). These include usability and upfront cost. In a study which was conducted in different institutions indicate that 35% of health professions listed significant EHR usability issues. These include difficulties with screen navigation and lack of performance. Poor usability can put a patient’s life in jeopardy. The EHR should be modernized to assist in clinician services. Some physicians who are not familiar with modern technology and utilize sensible manuals prefer not to execute the Electronic Health Records program due to the complexity of usability.

Another barrier to executing an EHR system in a healthcare institution is the upfront cost. According to studies conducted in hospitals, administrators emphasized that implementing meaningful use is expensive since it necessitates various alterations in the healthcare system. Efficiencies offset the cost of execution in the EHR (Kaye, 2017). Meaningful use requires constant technical support and modification to the advancement of Information Technology. Nonetheless, some physicians encounter difficulties in adapting to the modernized healthcare filling. EHRs significantly alter in capability, quality, and cost.

Benefits of EHR

The aptitude to share health information by electronic means can assist a healthcare organization provide higher eminence and safer patient care whereas developing concrete improvements for the institution (Kaye, 2017). Electronic Health Records incentive programs assist healthcare providers in managing care for patient better through;

• Presenting accurate, most recent and complete data regarding patients
• Ensuring smooth and speedy access to patient’s health data for additional corresponding competent maintenance
• Securely sharing automated data with healthcare staffs and patients
• Assisting healthcare givers in diagnosing patients, minimize medical mistakes, and provides appropriate care
• Enhancing staff and patient communication, interaction and care expediency.
• They are enabling further consistent and safe prescriptions.
• Endorsing legible, complete documentation and accurate streamlined billing and coding
• Improving security and privacy of patient’s health information
• Assisting healthcare staff to enhance efficiency and attain their institution's objectives
• Reducing costs by minimizing paperwork enhance safety, minimal duplications of testing, and improved health.

Conclusion

The adoption of EHR is complex to conquer due to the lack of return on speculation. Healthcare decision-makers find it complex to display return on investment to undertake a comprehensive EHR in their institutions. Although EHR encourages easy sharing of information, it requires training since information is highly structured and is recorded in the allotted space. Organizations which have implemented EHR program can share information quickly, thus providing easy access to authorized users and patients.  Although the Electronic Health Records program is expensive to perform in some healthcare institutions, those that have implemented have noted a positive change in the manner of filling patients' information. The digital filing system has enabled these facilities to understand their patients’ health history, thus, ensuring positive patient outcomes.