Converting Piles of Paper Into One Integrated Electronic System

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Converting Piles of Paper

Into One Integrated

Electronic System

Understanding the Difference:

Electronic Medical Records vs. Electronic Health

Records

v EMR: The electronic record of health-related information on a patient that is created and managed by staff from a single organization who are involved in the individual’s health and care.

v EHR: The complete electronic record of health-related information on a patient that is created and managed by staff involved in the individual’s health and care across more than one organization.

Since 2011…

v Over

190 million

electronic

prescriptions have been sent using EHRs

v

4.6 million

electronic copies of health information have been sent to patients by health professionals

v Over

13 million

appointment reminders were sent to patients using

electronic methods v

40 million

drug

interactions have been checked by health care providers electronically v Over

4.3 million

care

summaries have been shared between professionals in the field

v Allowing patients to better access their medical

information

v Allowing providers to better coordinate care to provide better outcomes

Percent Distribution of Electronic Health Record Satisfaction Among Office-Based Physicians: United States, 2011

The large majority of physicians who have implemented an EHR system (85%) were either very satisfied (38%) or somewhat satisfied (47%)

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Challenges of a

Paper-Based System

How Will Electronic Records Benefit

_{Your Practice?}

Can Be Inefficient

v Important information is easy to misplace

v The Institute of Medicine reports that one in seven hospitalizations is due to missing information

Become More Efficient

v Integrated scheduling systems

v Chart management-‐ less time looking for charts means more time viewing them

v Auto-‐fill electronic forms for patients

v Electronic prescription submittal

v Electronic diagnostic test referrals

Lack Efficient Communication

Within The Office and to

Patients

v Unable to quickly inform patients of important information such as recalls

v Lack administrative communication

Improved Efficiency of Communication Through

Integrated System

v Access patient information from outside the office

v Send information to patients electronically

v Submit, track, and receive information from other practices

v Print forms and references in multiple languages automatically

Difficulty Coordinating Care

Within the Practice and With

Other Health Care Providers

Improved Coordination of Care

v Reduce medical errors-‐ electronic systems check for allergic reactions and drug interactions

v Reduce errors from illegible handwriting

v Use online medical resources to research questions

v Share information with other providers instantly

Filing Systems Consume Space

and Money

v An average patient visit requires 10-‐13 pieces of paper

Financial Gains

v Indicate services your practice has provided for efficient billing

v Track pay-‐for-‐performance measures

v Save space and money by eliminating paper storage

v EMR/EHR system use among office-based physicians increased from 18% in 2001 to 72% in 2012, up from 48% in 2009

v EMR/EHR use ranged from 54% in New Jersey to 89% in Massachusetts in 2012

It’s never too early to start to experience the benefits your practice will

receive from an electronic health system.

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Persuasive Factsheet: Why practices will benefit from making the transition to electronic records

Technology use in health care is increasingly relevant to society. New technologies are constantly changing the way health care is practiced and thus helping to completely revolutionize the field. Electronic medical and health records, which have existed for more than 30 years, have started to boom in the past decade. Just 10 years ago, in 2004, only 21.8% of office-‐based physicians used an electronic system. By 2012, this

number rose to 71.8%. As the technology matures and evolves, more professionals are seeing the value in implementing them in their practice. The benefits of the electronic systems are enticing more and more professionals to make the switch.

To persuade practices to switch to electronic records, I chose to create an informational fact sheet

outlining the benefits of switching to electronic records for a practice. I titled the sheet “A Paperless Future” as a way to catch attention. Professionals looking at the sheet may wonder what exactly that means or how they can remove their practice’s dependence on paper and therefore continue reading the sheet. I used the first page to explain the difference between two similar concepts, electronic health records and electronic medical records, because these terms are easily and often confused. A graphic illustrates how many physicians are satisfied with the electronic system they have implemented. This is meant to further persuade the reader to consider the possibilities an electronic records system will offer them. In the box titled, “Since 2011…,” some very significant facts are stated that show how big of an impact technology is making on the field and how widespread it is. Using facts that contain such large numbers and emphasizing these large numbers with bold font is meant to make these facts jump out at readers. This approach is successful because the reader may feel as if they are missing out on something that could really enhance their work, if so many practices are using and satisfied with this technology, maybe they should be too.

To further convince readers their practice should be using electronic records, the second page points out the flaws of a traditional paper-‐based filing system side-‐by-‐side with the many benefits of switching to

electronic record keeping. The chart format clearly shows the flaws of the traditional method and how electronic methods remedy these flaws. The chart is easy to follow and clearly points out some major advantages of an

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advantages shown in the chart serve to have a large persuasive impact on the reader.

Technology use in health care is a very timely topic as so much is changing in the field. As more and more practices and physicians switch to a form of electronic record keeping, many are still not convinced of the

advantages of these systems. This fact sheet is meant to further convince physicians that electronic health or medical records will undoubtedly bring greater success to their practice. Constructed in a visually appealing way and easy to read and follow, the sheet is informational, factual, and clear. The sheet is able to educate readers on electronic record systems while persuading them to implement a system in their own practice so they can start to receive these many benefits as so many practices around the world already are.

Reflection: I feel this project would fit into my professional portfolio. It shows my knowledge of the topic and also expresses a form of creativity unlike many other traditional assignments.

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References

Hsiao, C., Hing, E. (2012, December). Use and Characteristics of Electronic Health Record Systems Among Office-‐ based Physician Practices: United States, 2001-‐2012. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db111.htm

Jamoom, E., Beatty, P., Bercovitz, A., Woodwell, D., Palso, K., Rechtsteiner, E. (2012, July). Physician Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems: United States, 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db98.htm

Medflow (2014). Retrieved from http://medflow.com/wp-‐content/uploads/2013/02/Making-‐the-‐Transition-‐ from-‐Paper-‐Based-‐Medical-‐Records-‐to-‐Electronic-‐Health-‐Records.pdf

Muscarella, Lucy (2012, December 18). Electronic Medical Records are Worth the Growing Pains. Retrieved from http://www.greenough.biz/2012/12/electronic-‐medical-‐records-‐are-‐worth-‐the-‐growing-‐pains.html

NYC.gov (2014). What Do Electronic Health Records Mean for Our Practice? Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/csi/ehrkit-‐brochure.pdf

Surveyor (2011, October 12). Electronic Medical Records: A thorn in the surveyor’s side? Retrieved from http://basedonobservations.wordpress.com/category/electronic-‐medical-‐records/