EHR Readiness

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EHR Readiness

• Are You Ready for an
• Electronic Heath Record?

HCAP 2005 New Grantee Orientation
Will Gaud Will Gaud Associates
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Why a Readiness Assessment?

• Implementing an EHR is risky
• Costly
• Pressure to avoid a poor or mediocre investment
• Risk of failure is high
• Trust is a scarce resource difficult to regain
  if lost

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Why a Readiness Assessment? (continued)

• Can help the organization identify and develop
  strategies to address common issues
• IT
• Lack of or insufficient necessary technical (IT)
  skills
• Insufficient infrastructure

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Why a Readiness Assessment? (continued)

• Outdated or missing procedures addressing
  business processes (what the practice does)
• Inadequate preparation
• Lack of administrative and clinical support

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Why a Readiness Assessment? (continued)

• Insufficient knowledge of minimum requirements
  system must meet
• Insufficient knowledge or understanding of the
  EHR marketplace
• Vendor
• Product

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Why a Readiness Assessment? (continued)

• Impact the system will have in the workplace
  environment is not well understood
• Failure to understand that this is not an IT
  issue, but an interdisciplinary project that
  covers the entire organization

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So how do we get started?

• What components should an EHR Readiness
  Assessment contain?
• Start with a VISION statement
• An inventory skills, technical, procedural
• Clinicians Survey knowledge, skills, and
  attitude (bias)

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So how do we get started?

• Education
• HIT
• Available infrastructure
• Available technical skills
• Needs
• Marketplace
• Vendor landscape
• Product landscape

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So how do we get started?

• Leadership
• Clinician involvement clinicians as champions
• Expectation Management
• Setting realistic expectations consistent with
  the organizations technical infrastructure,
  ability to learn, leadership, and commitment to
  the EHR system

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Resources

• EHR Specifications
• http//bphc.hrsa.gov/chc/CHCInitiatives/emr.htm
• Readiness Assessment Tools
• Community Clinics Initiative
• Tides Foundation
• http//www.communityclinics.org/content/article/de
  tail/783
• Practice Readiness Assessment
• DOQ-IT Practice Performance Improvement
  Initiative
• (Attached)