Introduction
The Medi-Heal Union hospital (MHU) is a healthcare provider located in Abu Dhabi. The organization initiated a project that was focused on implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) system. EMR set-ups are used to create, gather, manage, and retrieve health-related information of individuals within one healthcare organization (Janett & Yeracaris, 2020). The program implementation was expected to take one month because of the migration of data. As an organization, Medi-Heal is focused on the provision of quality and affordable healthcare services. Doctors and nurses had recommended the upgrading of the current system to suit emerging clients and hospital needs.
SWOT Analysis
One of the strengths of Medi-Heal Union hospital is that it has a good reputation because of the experienced staff working in the organization. The clinic was also recognized because of its high patient satisfaction level. The healthcare provider received the Health Care Provider of the year award 2021 because of its exemplary services. However, a shortage of staff is a significant weakness for MHU, which is why the EMR system is crucial. Another weakness is that consultation between doctors is hampered by the need to carry out a lot of paperwork. The hospital can benefit by taking advantage of technology to solve communication issues. There is also an opportunity in using technology to reduce the workload occasioned by a lot of documentation. The organization faces significant threats from other hospitals which have established EMR systems. The staff shortage is also a significant threat because of the dynamic nature of the health sector. The company views the EMR implementation project as integral in ensuring that it remains competitive.
Statement of Problem
The EMR implementation project was aimed at solving the issue of errors, which was occasioned by a lot of paper records. The current EMR system in use does not provide doctors and nurses with the ability to store electronic data and communicate with other staff members. The EMR system helps the doctor to look at the complete information of the patient (Sayyah Gilani et al., 2017). The health care provider can identify whether the patient has reactions to certain drugs more quickly. This ensures that there are fewer mistakes when diagnosing and issuing treatment (Aldosari, 2017). Another issue that had been identified was the need to enhance collaboration. The doctors and nurses indicated that there was a need for a setup that enabled easier and more effective collaboration.
The EMR system was to be created with an electronic communication model that enabled easier collaboration between doctors. The scope of the project was a system with a patient portal, doctors and nurse’s portal, data processing set-up, centralized dashboards, and payment components. EMR systems enable the safe storage of patient information and help doctors to diagnose correctly (Riahi et al., 2017). For this reason, MHU felt that implementing an EMR system was the best solution.
Action Plan
The first step in the implementation was to schedule a meeting with the staff to inform them of the new system. The discussion was carried out to ensure that the employees were familiar with the changes. The second step involved identifying and classifying the records into three categories, which are, patient information, billing information, and prescription information. The process took significant time because of the number of records that had to be reviewed. The third step was to carry out data migration from the current system to the new system. This was because the new set-up was created by a different entity. The project manager reviewed the progress of the data migration to ensure that no data was accessed by unauthorized people. This is crucial because data contained in an EMR system should not be accessed by third parties (Aldosari et al., 2018). The following stage involved testing the EMR system to ascertain system usability. The last step was to deploy the system and conduct monitoring and evaluation. The implementation was successful and the problems that arose were solved by the IT department, which was the implementing group.
Outcomes Measurement
The first deliverable for the project was to provide a system that allowed doctors and nurses to store electronic records of patients. Another deliverable was to create a set-up that allowed collaboration between doctors during complex issues. The two were measured using an online survey that focused on the healthcare providers. The online review sought to understand whether the system was performing as expected. The project team also monitored the retrieval time for records, which was a key performance indicator. The old setup was changed because the being less effective. The storage capacity was another key indicator of the performance. This is because an EMR system handles a lot of data, which creates the need for a set-up with better storage capabilities.
Outcomes
As a result of the implementation of the project, the organization has gained in terms of efficiency. The doctors can collaborate easily when solving complex issues using the system. This is because it enables doctors to communicate and share information without the need for paperwork. EMR systems can be custom-made to suit the needs of a specific healthcare provider (Riahi et al., 2017). The other aspect is that implementing an EMR project requires employees to be adequately prepared to handle a new system. MHU was advantaged in that the employees had prior knowledge because the company had been using an older EMR system. The key performance decisions that resulted from the implementation were to enhance training and to look at other areas which could be enhanced using technology. The management of MHU introduced additional training for employees in anticipation of more technological transformation in the hospital.
Recommendations
One of the recommendations is to train the employees to ensure they are capable of utilizing the system fully. The organization should ensure that employees undergo fresh training for the new set-up. This is because the EMR system that was implemented has new features that may require support to utilize fully. The other recommendation is that the organization should review the implementation process to identify aspects that can be enhanced in the future. The project was successfully deployed but some drawbacks need to be addressed. Organizations execute a variety of new set-ups, which means that it is important to review the implementation process to gain more insight.
Conclusion
One of the unexpected findings was the ease with which the migration to the new system occurred. The project was able to save time from the expected one-month period to 3 weeks. There was an expectation that the data migration would slow down the process of implementation. However, the use of a new strategy that involved reviewing the data and classifying it into three categories, ensured the implementation was successful. Another unexpected finding was the impact of the EMR system on other hospital departments. The setup was crucial in enhancing effectiveness in the pharmacy department. This is because it enabled the management to track how medicine was being prescribed.
The new EMR system enhances the ability of MHU to attain its strategic objectives. This is because it solves key issues, which had been recommended by the employees. One of the advantages of the system is that it will ensure that patients attain the best care. The EMR system guarantees that doctors and nurses can access the necessary patient information. This prevents cases of the wrong prescription, which can occur when using paperwork. A key objective of the organization is to offer quality care to its patients. The EMR system will allow healthcare providers to assess the best form of care for patients using the best decision-making systems.
During the implementation of the project, several challenges were encountered. One of the first challenges was a lack of adequate staff members to carry out the implementation. As the hospital experiences a significantly high number of clients every day, it was difficult to find staff members who would participate in the deployment fully. The implementation was carried out in-house by the IT department. Another significant challenge was the restriction in the budget that limited the IT branch from hiring additional staff. Despite the challenges, the project was implemented successfully. The organization has gained important insights into the implementation of an EMR project. An important lesson is that employee training and the right approach are the most important aspects.
References
Aldosari, B. (2017). Patients’ safety in the era of EMR/EHR automation. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, 9, 230-233. Web.
Aldosari, B., Al-Mansour, S., Aldosari, H., & Alanazi, A. (2018). Assessment of factors influencing nurses’ acceptance of electronic medical record in a Saudi Arabia hospital. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked, 10, 82-88. Web.
Janett, R. S., & Yeracaris, P. P. (2020). Electronic Medical Records in the American Health System: challenges and lessons learned. Ciencia & Saude Coletiva, 25(4), 1293–1304. Web.
Riahi, S., Fischler, I., Stuckey, M. I., Klassen, P. E., & Chen, J. (2017). The value of electronic medical record implementation in mental health care: a case study. JMIR Medical informatics, 5(1), e6512.
Sayyah Gilani, M., Iranmanesh, M., Nikbin, D., & Zailani, S. (2017). EMR continuance usage intention of healthcare professionals. Informatics for Health and Social Care, 42(2), 153-165. Web.