Is Your Successful EMR Implementation

Is More Effective Usage of Existing Technology

It’s about You, Your staff and Your Practice Workflow

It’s not surprising that many healthcare providers consider the transition to EMR primarily a matter of understanding the technological ins, outs, and how-tos of the currently available EMR options.

It Is Not!

Here is our experience, it’s about moving a practice to new workflow and understanding and changing a practice’s business process.

“Hospitals, clinics, and medical group practices are all scrambling to bring their information technology in line, but the biggest challenge most organizations are struggling with is the complexity of the problem.”

The heart of the problem, is figuring out “how best to undertake and manage an enterprise-wide project involving a wide array of complex systems—from billing and medical history software to communication systems connecting pharmacies, remote workers, and testing labs—all created by different vendors?”

As an example of a sector that has already experienced what healthcare providers are facing, was U.S. manufacturing sector which, in the 1990s, “lived through a technology migration remarkably similar to that occurring in the healthcare industry . . .Minus of course HIPAA, Ref Flag rules, stakeholders who just want to practice medicine plus a reimbursement cutbacks.

“Manufacturing companies were sold the promise that by migrating to a single, integrated software system . . . they would enable better business communication, eliminate redundant functions and slash overhead, and become streamlined epitomes of efficiency. It didn’t work out that way. Almost every major project in the arena that a major manufacturer undertook for almost half a decade ran significantly over budget, took far more time to implement than imagined, and resulted in far-less-than-forecast benefits.”

To avoid the same pitfalls, we whole heartedly feel  that “a successful EMR migration—one that manages the business in a simpler fashion, enables accelerated revenue, and meets federal compliance standards—needs to focus on analyzing and mapping business processes first, before a vendor is selected, and technology is specified and installed.”

We have yet to mention as to how this all relates to improving health outcomes for patients, but when faced with a transition as complex as the move to HIT, it makes sense for providers to begin by getting a handle on the actual nature of the problem before them.

To that end, we as consultants suggest that we look with you first at your business processes, and then at the available EMR technology that makes sense for you business.

Jeff Wexler, EMR Consultant, IT Consultant