Question

Discuss the process of managing the implementation of a major upgrade to an acute care hospital 's electronic health record system.

Answer 1

The main goal of implementing electronics health records is improving the quality of care by reducing medical errors, providing an effective means of communication, sharing information between healthcare providers, and collecting health information for educational and research purposes.

Acute care clinicians spend significant time documenting patient care information in electronic health records (EHRs).

In recent years, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been implemented by an ever increasing number of hospitals around the world. There have for example ,been initiatives, often driven by government regulations or financial stimulations, in the USA , the United Kingdom and Denmark .

EHR implementation initiatives tend to be driven by the promise of enhanced integration and availability of patient data , by the need to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness , by a changing doctor-patient relationship toward one where care is shared by a team of health care professionals , and/or by the need to deal with a more complex and rapidly changing environment.

This study examined what information is used by clinicians, how this information is used for patient care, and the amount of time clinicians perceive they review and document information in the EHR.