Milestone One: Introduction 1 Milestone One: Introduction Meredith Lindberg HCM-700 March 10, 2024 Dr. Matt Frederiksen-England
Milestone One: Introduction 2 Milestone One Introduction Problem Statement Having correct patient medical records is a critical piece to ensuring that patients receive the best care. "Diagnosis requires that clinicians communicate and share patient information in an efficient manner. Advances in electronic health records (EHRs) and health information technologies have created both challenges and opportunities for such communication" (Quinn et al., 2018). To keep up to date with healthcare technology, reviewing the process and the risks associated with transitioning from paper medical records to Electronic medical records. Finding the risks, periods, and costs of the implantation of a new electronic records software system. About forty years ago technology started to shift in healthcare. The trend started to move from paper medical records to electronic health records. As technology continues to grow and develop the need for a more efficient system was in demand. The better the electronic health record software became the clearer the deficiency in paper medical charts became. (Tsai et al., 2020) Overview of the Issue Ambulatory Surgical centers do not have to have electronic medical records, they have been able to prolong the process of transitioning from paper charts to electronic. As new CMS and documentation requirements occur the increasing need to upgrade to an electronic health record increase. "Electronic documentation systems can help meet the clinical, financial, operational, and regulatory needs of ASCs. Perioperative nurses should be involved in ensuring their facilities choose electronic documentation systems that meet goals for all areas of their
Milestone One: Introduction 3 ASCs' operations." (Geirer & Smith, 2019) Reviewing all the necessary features and equipment that would be needed such as the time to build the new software system. Obtaining laptops, desktops and iPad and figuring out what works best in each environment. Ensuring each bay and or patient area has the proper set up, electrical outlets and workstations. There always needs to be extra equipment on hand just in case something goes down. These are extra costs that are not always initially pitched with the new electronic records systems. There must be a time for training and time for a real time learning curve when the systems go live. There is cost associated with paper charts as well, which is important to understand to compare the cost analysis of both charting systems. Chart storage, documents, stickers, and physical charts are just some of the costs that come with paper medical records, not considering the extra cost of more staff which is needed to create and complete the paper records. Target Audience The target audience would be a governing body, healthcare top executives and accounting of a healthcare organization which still uses paper medical records. Reviewing the benefits, staff efficiencies and overall cost reduction of producing and storing the paper medical records will all be improvements to the organization. Evaluating the first costs verse the long- term costs and saving of the new electronic