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EHR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Brenda L. Román, BS, MT(ASCP)CM

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

INFS 6340: Health Informatics/Health Computer Information Systems

Dr. Murad Moqbel

July 18 , 2023
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EHR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Assignment: Assume you are hired as a consultant to develop an EHR (Electronic Health
Records) system implementation plan for the following doctor’s office:

Dr. Jim Smith is a 62-year-old family practice doctor who has been in private practice for
30 years. He has recently been joined by another family practice doctor, Nelda Empressa,
who is considerably younger, and had been a solo practitioner for about nearly 5 years.
Another recent hire is a Nurse Practitioner, Franklin Mossman, who has been practicing
for 10 years with a colleague of Dr. Smith who recently retired. Dr. Smith hired the NP
and Nelda because his practice volume is increasing and the complexity and difficulty of
being in private practice has grown to a nearly unbearable level. To date, he has relied on
standard paper medical records and is relatively uncomfortable with computers. Dr.
Smith also employs an office manager, a receptionist, and a health tech aide. Dr. Smith
has selected an EHR system and is planning to implement it in his office.

6-Step Process Use For Implementing An Electronic Health Records (HER) System
An EHR system may take a while to implement, but the settlements are well appealing to
the asset for healthcare accommodations. Electronic health record (EHR) systems are crucial to
delivering the maximum quality care while boosting profits. The advantages of electronic
medical records (EMR) over paper records far outweigh the costs. Incorporating the staff in
decision-making can help organizations assume an EHR system briefly and capably. (Uzialko,
2023) Based on information obtained from Dr. Jim Smith's practice, we will use a 6-step process
for implementing an Electronic Health Records (HER) System (Figure 1).

System Downtime
System Installation Conversion
Procedures
Analyze or evaluate Determine system Identify appropriate Convert data and test Select date when patient Develop downtime
current process and configuration training method(s) to be system. volume is relatively low. procedures.
procedures. used for each
major user group.

Preparation For Go-Live

Workflow and Process
Staff Training Date and
Analysis
Communications

Figure 1. 6-Step Process Use For Implementing An Electronic Health Records (HER) System

Workflow and Process Analysis

First, we must look at how the existing workflow is carried out; this would embrace
assessing how the data is used. Dr.Smith's office merely uses paper documentation so that we
can exclude that part of the procedure. In order to appraise the existing standard operating
procedures, we would require to detect what areas it could develop. To do this is to get feedback
from the staff colleagues on what parts of the existing workflow they think need to develop, but
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mainly with Dr. Smith, Dr. Empressa, and the Office Manager to review what they need and
want
Identify opportunities for
improvement and, as appropriate,
effect those changes.

Identify sources of data, including

Workflow and interfaces to other systems.
Process Analysis
Determine location and number
of workstations needed.

Redesign physical location as

needed.

Figure 2. Workflow and Process Analysis – What to analyzed or evaluate.

Also, we will conclude how much and where the workstations how arranged with the new
system. It is imperative to deliberate how these workstations will be used and where. Numerous
medical institutions select to uphold handy workstations for accessibility reasons. Though, staff
would need to maintain liability of the workstations to preserve the security of the data on
workstations. We need to pinpoint how the workstations will adequately fit the workflow
because they still need to be measured in the procedure. Suppose the workstations are in a
permanent position. In that case, the office may want to add extra equipment to adjust for the
new electronics or feasibly ensure that the workstations are assured location. (Figure 2)

System Installation
System installation can convey workflow analysis at the same stage as the first step. This
step implicates scenery suchlike electronic equipment that is requisite for the system
functionality, like software, hardware, or network arrangement. The only staff member that has
IT knowledge is the Health Tech assistant. They can access the vendor to help install the
software and equipment to ensure smooth execution. The vendor can simultaneously train the
Health Tech support through this process to troubleshoot everyday problems that might happen.
Please stand for the system not to be prepared; frequently, it tumbles on the IT staff and the
vendor to tailor the system's design and assemble the physical and cyber set-up. (Figure 3)

Determine system configuration.

Order and install hardware.

Prepare data center.

System Upgrade or implement IT
infrastructure.
Installation
Install software and interfaces.

Customize software.

Test, retest, and test again .

Redesign physical location as
needed.
Figure 3. System Installation – What to determine.

Staff Training
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Staff fellows may initially have concerns about using the system from when it is first-
hand. A tutorial delineating the fundamental tasks to help straightforwardly handle the new
system would be perfect. An upright way to guarantee the training stays after the vendor has left
to look for an excellent candidate to become a trainer. The office could run into some
complications if the Health Tech assistant is barely qualified and ensured to leave. That is why
training the office manager to be a trainer is essential if the Health Tech assistant is unavailable.
(Figure 4)

Identify appropriate training

method(s) to be used for each
major user group.

Prepare training materials.

Staff Training Train staff members.

Test staff member proficiency.

Update procedure manuals.

Figure 4. Staff Training – Training approach.

Idyllically, training would happen far before the go-live date. The staff should have
adequate time to use the system and acquaint themselves before the go-live date; also, give time
to require any feedback to the trainers on functionalities doubt they have before the go-live date.

Conversion
For this step in the completion process, we will transfer the data from the old system to
the new one. The office manager, receptionist, and health tech advisor advise being at the
forefront of the conversion process. Also, it can be done alongside training, as the data
translation will help the staff members get familiar with the interface. The conversion process
will be relatively easy since the office already uses a computerized database to uphold records. It
can be examined once all the data has been converted throughout the new system. The
examination will demonstrate how the system will function on the go-live date. (Figure 5)

Convert data.

Conversion

Test system.

Figure 5. Conversion – Convert and test.

Since the office has few staff colleagues, to begin with, it is endorsed that they run both
the old and new systems alongside the launch phase; this would drop the quantity of logistic risk
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should the new system not be operative properly. Once the new system has subsisted used and is
verified adequate, the office can discontinue using the old system and center only on the new
system. The parallel use of both systems should create copiously of time previously the go-live
date.

Preparation for Go-Live Date and Communications

From when the office will be using both systems ahead of the go-live date, the formal
conversion from the old system to the new one should happen objectively and efficiently. The
go-live date should be arranged for a day that regularly has a lower volume of patients. This
would support taking a significant measure of pressure off of the conversion. If the office is
constantly afloat with patients, they can choose a day for the go-live date and deliberately
arrange fewer patients. Also, before the go-live date, there should be measures for whether the
system goes down, whether programmed or spur-of-the-moment interruption. (Figure 6)

Select date when patient volume is

relatively low.
Ensure sufficient staff members
are on hand.
Set up mechanism for reporting
Preparation for and correcting problems and
Go-Live Date and issues.
Communications Review and effect process
reengineering.

Establish communication
mechanisms for identifying and
addressing problems and
concerns.

Figure 6. Preparation for Go-Live Date and Communications – Select date and establish communication.

System Downtime Procedures

At a certain point, the system will unavoidably go down. In order to diminish chaos,
every staff fellow should be well knowledgeable and well-informed in the suitable system
interruption procedures. Since this is a reduced practice, a way that may work is maintenance a
paper record of everything while the system is down and enter it into the system when it has
recuperated. The office can acquire its methods and documents to be used during the system
interruption, ensuring that all data requests are collected. (Figure 7)

Develop downtime procedures.

System
Downtime
Procedures

Train staff members on

downtime procedures.

Figure 7. System Downtime Procedures– Develop and train.

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At the conclusion of the implementation process, Dr.Smith's office practice will have a
completely operational, up-to-date EHR system that will expectantly increase both the excellence
of healthcare services they deliver and the practice’s cost-effectiveness.
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References

Aguirre, R. R., Suarez, O., Fuentes, M., & Sanchez-Gonzalez, M. A. (2019). Electronic Health
Record Implementation: A Review of Resources and Tools. Cureus, 11(9).

Beeson, Kathryn (2017) EHR Implementation Plan: Your 8-Step Checklist;

https://www.ehrinpractice.com/ehr-implementation-plan.html

Uzialko, A. (2023). How to implement an electronic health records System. Business News

Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9102-implement-an-electronic-health-
records-system.html

Wager, A., Lee, W., & Glaser, P. (2017). Chapter 6: System Implementation and Support. In Health
Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Management (4th ed., pp.
190–191). Jossey-Bass.