Electronic medical value should not be overlooked, but need to guard against 9 big trap (1)

Obama's new health reform will spend more than $ 20 billion to compensate for those deploying EMR (electronic medical record) of medical institutions, hospitals or clinics of doctors and nurses work more efficient.

The idea is good, but in practice, the need to constantly experience.

EMR (electronic medical record) while facing great challenges, but its value cannot be ignored, because it really can help improve people's health, and even helps to save lives.

But the deployment of electronic medical records system is very complicated and very expensive. The following is the reality EMR implementation process some experience and lessons learned.

1, various issues are beyond imagination

For large hospital, deploying EMR system might spend millions of dollars.

For example, St. Elizabeth Healthcare is located in Northern Kentucky, contains six hospitals, totaling ophthalmologists, in order to achieve the EMR spent $ 40 million. Specific to each Department, each doctor spent 2.5 million to 6 million to deploy this system. Of course there are also some less expensive alternatives, such as Wal-Mart sold eClinicalWorks EMR system plus its Sam's Club stores sold by Dell computer. The latter to adopt SaaS (software as a service) model. But it is important to note that this in fact buy only the EMR necessary hardware and software, but does not include consulting, training, additional software, and other related costs.

Committed to helping Massachusetts medical organizations deploy their EMR system of electronic health Alliance CEO Micky Tripathi, medical institutions should have $ 5000 ~ 10000 budget to hire a consultant to management EMR deployments.

And Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and doctors in the EMR of project lead, Harvey said Leanne training is another place to spend a lot of money. Now serving most of the doctors and nurses need to be trained in their EMR, learning a new medical system, and develop new working habits. Many medical institutions also need other software to meet the EMR will not be able to cover functional requirements, such as certain specialty clinics or hospitals in some departments need to establish a blood bank.

In addition, the early emergence of some small errors that might disturb financial process, causing cash flow problems.

This is the Hot Springs medical problems encountered by the project. It is an area of 457 square miles of Madison County, North Carolina, the only health care organizations. When the Hot Springs in May 2006 to begin using their EMR systems, coding problem plaguing them about a year, so that they could not send the Bill to the patient. Its Managing Director Robert Ford said, the system continually returned to insurance companies and other payers requests, nor receive some patients pay, which leads us to a serious cash flow problems. "We still in recovery phase," Ford said, "we probably can only be received sick pay one-tenth of the cost. ”

If you start experiencing problems are solved, is likely to seriously affect the doctors and nurses ' work efficiency.

Ford's view, plus the loss of work, training costs and solve various unpredictable problems, medical institutions should be in the EMR system costs an additional 50%.

2. let the doctors and nurses to active learning

Medical institutions must be allowed to use the system for everyone is active learning, and should, as soon as possible.

Intermountain Healthcare CIO Marc Probst is of the view that IT departments and the relationship between critical health care workers. Intermountain Healthcare is located in Utah and Idaho's 22 branches to use their own development of EMR system has more than 30 years, they are now being conducted with General Electric for a period of 7 years in a transaction, to improve their system. For Probst, and medical workers of the AC is very convenient — his Office at Intermountain Healthcare chief medical information officer in the Office next door. Sometimes, you need major to do things. When the Institute For Family Health that is located in New York City network community medical center in 2002 enabled EMR, project leader direct removal of all prescription and other forms. The Chairman of the Board Calman CEO Neil said that in this way, doctors and nurses have had to overcome various difficulties using the electronic system, "the two systems coexist in time drag the longer, the more pain. "He said.