The changes that can be effected in the EMR to support the ACA reform include incorporating features that increase patients’ engagement, thus improving efficiency in patient care. The features can include those that allow patients to schedule their clinic appointments and request prescription refills, which increases engagement in their health care and encourage them to take charge of their health (Borbolla et al., 2019). Besides, the EMR can be transformed to incorporate features that enable providers to send appointment reminders to patients, which will reduce cancellations of appointments and increase patient engagement.
Innovative Aspects of the System
Healthcare is an area that has gained the most from technological innovations, which continue to make healthcare delivery more efficient. Technology innovations guarantee that healthcare systems have essential inputs that increase access to care and promote quality healthcare. This section will discuss how the EMR has embraced technology innovations and suggest innovations beneficial to the organization and those that will support evidence-based practice and efficiency in patient care.
How the EMR Utilize Technology Innovations
Technology innovations have had an immense impact on healthcare technology systems, including the EMR. The EMR has embraced technology innovations, significantly reducing technology barriers in EMR interoperability, usability, and documentation (Guo et al., 2017). For example, the EMR uses innovations like the CDS system, which contains soft and hard stops that reduce unnecessary or repetitive medical procedures (Sutton et al., 2020). For example, if a psychiatrist requests a diagnostic test not indicated in the clinical guidelines, an EMR soft stop informs the psychiatrist. The CDS system may then require the psychiatrist to indicate the rationale for overruling (Sutton et al., 2020). Besides, the CDS hard stop inhibits the psychiatrist from requesting unnecessary tests without approval from the radiologist. The EMR’s technological innovations streamline the workflow for clinicians in the hospital and enable them to provide patient care efficiently.
Technology Innovations I Would Recommend For the Organization
Cloud computing is my recommended technology innovation for my organization. Cloud computing entails using remote servers over the internet to offer on-demand access to information services (Ratten, 2020). It uses IT infrastructure to foster flexibility with accessing online data. Cloud computing supports the delivery and access to computing services and resources through the internet, including databases, developmental platforms, and analytics (Ratten, 2020). It promotes secure and affordable storage of data with a portable access to health data. Health informatics depends on access to huge amounts of medical data and EMRs. The cloud computing capacity for high-volume data storage can thus lower costs for health care organizations. Besides, real-time information sharing can foster better communication among healthcare providers (Ratten, 2020). Cloud computing monitors patient and clinician interactions remotely and thus promote better patient care in the organization. Furthermore, it promoted fast data sharing, which can improve psychiatric research in our organization.
Innovations That Could Promote EBP and Efficiency
The Smart bed technology innovation can further promote EBP and efficiency in the organization. It enables nurses to monitor patients’ vital signs, weight, and movement (Hong, 2018). It allows nurses to monitor patients constantly and provide frequent updates and communications on a patient’s activities, especially for acute-ill psychiatric patients. Smart beds play a key role in keeping patients safe and comfortable during a long hospital stay by preventing falls since the nurse can monitor the patient’s movement (Hong, 2018). Falls are a point of concern for psychiatric and dementia patients. Smart bed technology uses a sensor, which is placed under the mattress, to help prevent patient falls. Besides, they can help nurses identify patients’ patterns, leading to a new diagnosis or a different understanding of a patient’s disorder (Hong, 2018). Smart bed technology promotes efficiency in patient care since nurses spend less time going to patients’ rooms to monitor them or adjust their comfort since they can control that with the smart bed.
Conclusion
The EMR is a health IT system implemented in my health care organization, a psychiatric hospital. Healthcare professionals in our organization use the EMR to store and easily retrieve patient information and clinical notes. The EMR helps diagnosing and preparing patients’ treatment plans. Our organization acquired the EMR system to improve the delivery of patient care and quality of health care. Besides, there was an increasing need to enhance the coordination in the healthcare team, minimize medical errors, and maximize cost-efficiency. The EMR is run by health informaticists who maintain the system. The EMR has embraced technology innovations, significantly reducing technology barriers in EMR interoperability, usability, and documentation. It uses clinical decision support, which reduces unnecessary medical procedures and tests through soft and hard stops. I would recommend our organization to implement cloud computing for secure and affordable data storage and promote portable access to health data. The smart bed technology would promote EBP by promoting patient safety and improving the efficiency of nursing care.
References
Borbolla, D., Becerra-Posada, F., & Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2019). Legal framework for electronic medical records in the Region of the Americas: definition of domains to legislate and situation analysis.
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https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2019.25
