Electronic Health Records For Dummies

Electronic Health Records For Dummies

by Trenor Williams, Anita Samarth
Released December 2010
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470623657

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

The straight scoop on choosing and implementing an electronic health records (EHR) system

Doctors, nurses, and hospital and clinic administrators are interested in learning the best ways to implement and use an electronic health records system so that they can be shared across different health care settings via a network-connected information system. This helpful, plain-English guide provides need-to-know information on how to choose the right system, assure patients of the security of their records, and implement an EHR in such a way that it causes minimal disruption to the daily demands of a hospital or clinic.

  • Offers a plain-English guide to the many electronic health records (EHR) systems from which to choose

  • Authors are a duo of EHR experts who provide clear, easy-to-understand information on how to choose the right EHR system an implement it effectively

  • Addresses the benefits of implementing an EHR system so that critical information (such as medication, allergies, medical history, lab results, radiology images, etc.) can be shared across different health care settings

  • Discusses ways to talk to patients about the security of their electronic health records

Electronic Health Records For Dummies walks you through all the necessary steps to successfully choose the right EHR system, keep it current, and use it effectively.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Title Page
  4. Introduction
    1. Part I: Health Information Technology Basics
    2. Part II: Planning for an EHR
    3. Part III: I’ve Bought a System, Now What? Implementing an EHR
    4. Part IV: Optimizing and Improving Your EHR
    5. Part V: The Part of Tens
  5. Part I: Health Information Technology Basics
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding EHRs
      1. Checking EHR usage in the United States
      2. Looking at EHR usage around the world
      3. Quality improvement opportunities
      4. Getting rid of file rooms and missing records
      5. Getting information when you want it
      6. Evaluating infrastructure and readiness
      7. Figuring costs and benefits
      8. Checking out vendors and scenarios
      9. Embracing the required changes
      10. Providing for training and support
      11. Communication is key: Before, during, and after
      12. Considering security and privacy
      13. Sharing information as required and recommended
      14. Promoting wellness and disease management
    2. Chapter 2: Understanding What's Available: The ABCs of EHRs
      1. Electronic prescribing
      2. Practice management and billing systems
      3. Patient portals
      4. Personal health records
      5. Remote patient monitoring
    3. Chapter 3: Finding Help and Oversight
      1. Introducing Meaningful Use
      2. Regional extension centers (RECs)
      3. Hospitals and health systems
      4. Professional organizations
      5. Quality organizations
      6. CCHIT
      7. Drummond Group, Inc.
      8. InfoGard
      9. The role of standards and standards organizations
  6. Part II: Planning for an EHR
    1. Chapter 4: Assessing Readiness
      1. Developing a mission and vision
      2. Identifying goals for a specific EHR implementation
      3. Determining a budget
      4. Creating a realistic timeline
      5. Building the team
      6. Evaluating current hardware
      7. Determining new needs for hardware devices
      8. Deciding to host locally or remotely
      9. Getting connected to network reliability
      10. IT staffing
      11. Culture
      12. Computer and technical skills
      13. Conducting assessments
      14. It’s okay to not be ready
      15. Determining initiative importance
      16. Getting your staff ready
    2. Chapter 5: Determining the Cost, Benefits, and ROI
      1. Software
      2. Implementation costs
      3. Ongoing maintenance and support
      4. Categorizing key EHR benefits
      5. Factoring in the incentive payments and penalties
      6. Participating in other incentive programs
    3. Chapter 6: Selecting Your Vendor Partner
      1. Picking a team
      2. Refining your decision-making process
      3. Working within your timeline
      4. Documenting a plan
      5. Requirements gathering
      6. Developing your RFI
      7. Creating a short list
      8. Deciding which products to see
      9. Comparing “apples and oranges”
      10. Comparing apples with apples
      11. Developing demonstration scenarios
      12. Conducting site visits
      13. Weighting and scoring
      14. Picking “the one”
    4. Chapter 7: Partnerships and Contracts
      1. Technology requirements
      2. Migration and implementation services
      3. Financial parameters
      4. Legal stuff
      5. Discussing your security concerns
      6. Asking about support and update practices
      7. Reading the boilerplate
      8. Marking up the contract
      9. Negotiating and renegotiating
      10. Signing your life away
  7. Part III: I've Bought a System, Now What? Implementing an EHR
    1. Chapter 8: Changing the Way You Work: Workflow Redesign
      1. Patient flow
      2. Visit documentation
      3. After visit communications
      4. Managing documents
      5. Understanding your pain points
      6. Overall goals
      7. Visit documentation goals
      8. After visit communication goals
      9. Goals for managing paper
      10. System design
      11. Training
      12. Support
      13. Realizing improved benefits
    2. Chapter 9: Assigning New Roles and Responsibilities
      1. Deciding what information to preload
      2. Scanning the rest of the patient’s chart
      3. Deciding who should be involved
      4. Deciding when to stop pulling charts
      5. Scanning after go-live
      6. Faxing
      7. Printing
      8. Patient arrival and check-in
      9. Checking out
      10. Communicating test results
      11. Handling telephone inquiries and phone notes
      12. Appointment reminders
      13. Intake/rooming the patient
      14. Documenting the visit
      15. Creating task lists
      16. Communicating with others in your practice
      17. Improving billing accuracy and claims
    3. Chapter 10: Considering Security and Privacy
      1. Privacy rule
      2. Security rule
      3. Performing a security risk analysis for Meaningful Use
      4. Getting everyone on board
      5. Asking the right questions
      6. Securing your perimeter
      7. Retrofitting old equipment
      8. Having a plan going forward
    4. Chapter 11: Training for Success
      1. Assessing who needs what training
      2. Confirming your trainers
      3. Incorporating workflows and functionality into training
      4. Knowing what the vendor can do
      5. Interviewing the vendor team
      6. Reviewing the training materials
      7. Forming training classes
      8. Picking the right training options
      9. Deciding when to train
      10. Scheduling training time
      11. Implementing the seeing, doing, and doing again process
      12. Testing proficiency
      13. Staying proficient before go-live
      14. Developing your own talent
      15. Training post–go-live
    5. Chapter 12: Communicating and Marketing Your EHR
      1. Defining EHR for your patients
      2. Addressing privacy concerns
      3. Explaining the benefits
      4. Creating pamphlets
      5. Outlining talking points
      6. Keeping updates on your Web site
    6. Chapter 13: Surviving the Go-Live
      1. Making sure everyone’s ready to roll
      2. Determining your office readiness
      3. Getting your EHR off to the right start
      4. Getting into an EHR routine
      5. Productivity
      6. Patients
      7. Patience
  8. Part IV: Optimizing and Improving Your EHR
    1. Chapter 14: Keeping Your Patients Healthy with an EHR
      1. Identifying patient groups with registries
      2. Planning and offering services and interventions
      3. Reporting processes and outcomes
      4. Providing feedback
      5. Roles and responsibilities
      6. Focusing on outcomes
      7. Providing integrated services
      8. Reporting data
    2. Chapter 15: Directing Patient Access and Communication
      1. Deciding what to share
      2. Educating patients about accessing information
      3. Enjoying messaging benefits
      4. Overcoming obstacles
      5. Using messaging to its full potential
      6. Patient portals
      7. Personal health records
    3. Chapter 16: Improving and Tweaking the System
      1. Choosing a vendor support model
      2. Supporting yourself
      3. Using support tools
      4. Working with your vendor rep
      5. Finding help outside the office
      6. Adding remote access
      7. Giving patients remote access
  9. Part V: The Part of Tens
    1. Chapter 17: Ten EHR-Related Web Sites
    2. Chapter 18: Ten Problems (And Solutions) You'll Face
    3. Chapter 19: Ten Questions to Ask (And Answer)
  10. Appendix A: Alphabet Soup
  11. Appendix B: Regional Extension Centers
  12. Appendix C: Medicare and Medicaid Incentives

Product information

  • Title: Electronic Health Records For Dummies
  • Author(s): Trenor Williams, Anita Samarth
  • Release date: December 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470623657