Readiness assessement– why bother?

Assessing the readiness of your practice for replacing paper processess with HIT enables 1) gaining the benefits of EHR and EMR systems and 2) making your practice perhaps more attractive to potential buyers when you decide to retire.

Visible Knowledge and Action items for–

  • a solo practitioner
  • small group practitioners and
  • rural and underserved area practitioners.

Visible expertise and knowledge are published in whatever medium the author prefers; your concierge investigates, monitors and analyzes many HIT knowledge media in order to deliver the checklists and “best–practices” you can immediately put to work.

Media

Many (perhaps dozens) of reputable–

  • articles and reports
  • blog posts
  • white papers
  • podcasts and
  • videos

are available on assessing the readiness of a practice for HIT. Like it or not, these new tools and resources are every bit as critical to sustaining your practice and livelihood as innovations in medical devices and medications.

This page provides excerpts of and links to knowledge you can use about–

  • doing an assessment and
  • using the foundation of an assessment for selecting the right HIT.

Usability Note— Every word ending with an asterisk will display its definition or other information when the cursor is on the word.

New tools/Resources

Time is an asset; assign time-consuming HIT searches and analyzing subsequent results to your HIT concierge.

  • Assessment
    • title: “Readiness Assessment: is your practice ready for electronic medical 
      records?”
    • online date: [Retrieved from source, 10 June H 2011]
    • author(s): Michael J. McCoy, M.D.
    • excerpt(s):
      • “After having assessed the culture and the organizational readiness, the expected value of the project does need to be realistically assessed.”
      • “That value proposition (all of the benefits of electronic medical records, such as
        • improved patient safety
        • remote access to data
        • enhanced efficiency and
        • reduced transcription costs, etc.)
        must be looked at carefully compared to all of the costs associated with the project–
        • time
        • money
        • political capital, etc.”
      • It is important to measure the
        • “number of faxes being transmitted between the offices and
        • time spent by office staff copying records to send to the hospital [or elsewhere]&rdqo;
        since these data are useful in HIT decision–making.
    • source: American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
    • my 2¢ worth: Dr. McCoy frequently writes about EMR/EHR and other HIT topics. “Readiness Assessment” is a 12-page PDF which includes several tables and is part one of a series.

  • Assessment
    • title: “Information technology in the medical practice”
    • online date: September 2003
    • author(s): Sherry L. Migliore, MPA
    • excerpt(s):
      • &lduo;[EHR and] EMR impact the entire practice; implementation can be time–consuming and frustrating.”
      • “All of the participants who raised their hands also indicated that they had experienced a period of turmoil and reduced productivity during the implementation process.”
      • “Conduct a needs assessment and review its current technology systems. The practice should determine how information technology fits into the organization’s long-range plans.”
      • “Part of this analysis should also be an assessment as to whether the technology interfaces with other technologies used by the practice.”
      • “Goals should be set that identify and quantify expectations.”
    • source: IT in medical practice
    • my 2¢ worth: Ms. Migliore exhorts “talk with your peers to obtain valuable feedback” to save time and money and prevent aggravation. Do not “re–invent the wheel;” answers and problem–solutions are formalized daily by providers nation–wide. Tap that brainpower.

  • Assessment
    • title: “EMR ReadinEss: the R-factor”
    • online date: [Retrieved from source 13 June M 2011]
    • author(s): Don McDaniel; Dan D’Orazio, MBA; Paula Infeld, RN, CPHIMS; David Kovel
    • pages: 4 as PDF
    • content provided by: Physicians Practice
    • sponsored by GE Healthcare
    • excerpt(s):
      • “Providers will ultimately be compelled, by 2015, to select and implement EMR systems.”
      • “Lack of readiness is widely recognized as a core factor in EMR delays and failures.”
      • “Readiness is a marathon, not a sprint, and the benefits of a sound approach will resonate for years to come.”
      • “Any contractual agreement you enter with a vendor should include a signed commitment ensuring that the technology will never create an obstacle between your organization and a continuous state of meaningful use.”
    • source: Practice readiness for HIT is a marathon.
    • my 2¢ worth: This whitepaper is a solid introduction to the critical thinking framework needed to successfully incorporate an EMR/EHR system in your livelihood.

  • Assessment
    • title: “Readiness Assessment – 1.0 – Introduction”
    • series: Part one of five videos
    • video run-time: 3:00 minutes
    • online date: [Retrieved from source 13 June M 2011]
    • host: Eric S. Fishman, MD
    • excerpt(s):
      • “The building blocks in successfully adopting an EHR are–
        • foundation is readiness
        • system selection
        • implementation and
        • maintenance.”
    • source: Assessment series introduction
    • my 2¢ worth: EHR TV is providing healthcare information technology education to the medical community. Video blogging is the medium used to address many aspects of the EHR Industry.

  • Assessment
    • title: “Readiness Assessment – 1.1 – Getting Started" &rdqo;
    • series: Part two of five videos
    • video run-time: 4:00 minutes
    • online date: [Retrieved from source 13 June M 2011]
    • host: Eric S. Fishman, MD
    • excerpt(s):
      • “A top-notch network environment is at the top of the list of requirements”
      • provides an overview of a“five-step readiness assessment process”
    • source: Your EHR marathon begins with but one step.
    • my 2¢ worth: An EHR/EMR practice and a medical practice are much alike; healing processes differ from patient to patient and the methods of handling data differ from EMR to EMR. To be an effective practitioner requires continuous education on new capabilities and new tools.

In general

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  • active link to the FullGlass-HIT website
accompany the content.

: kel [at] full-glass [.] com

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