Superior Essay Writers | Electronic health records (EHRs) provide a database for an individual’s healthcare data during healthcare encounters

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide a database for an individual’s healthcare data during healthcare encounters

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide a database for an individual’s healthcare data during healthcare encounters and the ability to exchange health information electronically. Consider an EHR with which you have had experience.

Include the following sections:

Application of Course Knowledge: Answer all questions/criteria with explanations and detail.
Identify one EHR with which you have experience. Provide the name of the system and the practice environment in which it was used.
Describe three key features of the system that supported positive client or organizational outcomes.
Describe one concern with the system specific to the organization. Discuss the impact of the concern and how it can be addressed.

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Sample Answer

Application of Course Knowledge: Analyzing an EHR System

Identification of an EHR System

Let’s consider an EHR system commonly used in various healthcare settings: Epic. For this analysis, I’ll focus on its application within a large, integrated academic medical center. This environment typically involves a wide range of specialties, research, and a high volume of complex patient cases.

Key Features Supporting Positive Outcomes

Epic, in an academic medical center setting, offers several key features that contribute to positive client and organizational outcomes:

Integrated Patient View: Epic provides a comprehensive and unified view of patient data across all departments and specialties within the medical center. This means that a patient’s entire medical history—from primary care visits to specialist consultations, hospitalizations, lab results, and imaging studies—is accessible from a single platform. This integration reduces the likelihood of fragmented care, improves care coordination between providers, and empowers clinicians with a complete picture of the patient’s health status, leading to more informed decision-making and better patient safety. For clients, this translates to less repetitive information sharing and a more streamlined care experience.
Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Tools: Epic is equipped with robust clinical decision support tools. These tools provide real-time alerts and reminders to clinicians based on patient data and best practice guidelines. Examples include drug-drug interaction alerts, allergy alerts, reminders for preventive screenings, and order sets for specific conditions. For example, if a physician attempts to prescribe a medication to which a patient has a documented allergy, Epic will flag it. This significantly enhances patient safety by reducing medication errors and ensuring adherence to evidence-based practices, ultimately leading to improved client outcomes and reduced adverse events.

Full Answer Section

Patient Portal (MyChart): Epic’s integrated patient portal, MyChart, empowers patients to actively participate in their healthcare. Through MyChart, clients can view their medical records, lab results, schedule appointments, request prescription refills, communicate securely with their care team, and even complete pre-visit questionnaires. This feature promotes greater patient engagement and self-management, leading to improved adherence to treatment plans, better understanding of their health conditions, and overall higher satisfaction with their care experience. For the organization, it can reduce call volumes and improve efficiency in administrative tasks.

Organizational Concern and Resolution

One significant concern observed with Epic within an academic medical center is the complexity and extensive customization capabilities of the system. While customization can be beneficial, in a large, complex environment, it can lead to:

Impact of Concern:
- User Burnout and Training Burden: The sheer depth of features and potential for extensive workflows can make the system overwhelming for new users and even experienced staff when new modules or customizations are introduced. This can lead to increased training time, frustration, and potential burnout among clinicians who feel they are spending more time navigating the EHR than directly interacting with patients.
- Inconsistent Workflows: With numerous departments and specialties, excessive customization can sometimes lead to slight variations in workflows or data entry, making data aggregation and reporting more challenging at an organizational level. It can also create inefficiencies if users in different areas are performing similar tasks in slightly different ways.
- Maintenance and Upgrade Challenges: Highly customized systems can be more challenging and costly to maintain and upgrade, as changes need to be carefully tested against all custom configurations to avoid breaking functionality.
Addressing the Concern:
- Standardization with Flexibility: The organization can address this by adopting a strategy of standardization with controlled flexibility. This involves identifying core workflows and data entry standards that must be consistently applied across the institution to ensure data integrity and streamline reporting. However, it also allows for minor, carefully considered customizations in specific departments where unique clinical needs necessitate them.

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