Information System Overview

Information System Overview

University of Phoenix

OUTLINE:

I have selected eClinicalWorks for my information system overview, I will discuss what type of information system it is, the evolution of the system, impact the information system has in the industry, and the benefits of using this type of information system.

The type of information system:

eClinicalWorks is an electronic health record (EHR) information system designed to make paper charting obsolete, the digital record system can be accessed at any time and has safeguards built- in to protect patient health information and confidentiality. This input and output-based system allow for the real-time search of patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely at any time to authorized users (Health IT.gov, 2018). The core design of the system is to collect demographic and medical information of a patient, however, many of today’s EHR systems are built to surpass this standard concept.

Many EHR systems today come fully equipped with tools to improve a patient’s continuity of care through improving the coordination efforts of all providers involved. It starts at the basic level of keeping accurate, up-to-date, and complete medical information such as the

patient’s medical history, treatment plans, diagnoses, immunization dates, medications, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory test results of a patient (Health IT.gov, 2018). This information can also be shared securely with other clinicians and practices. A specialty provider can request and receive medical records from the patient’s primary care physician (PCP) the same day instead of waiting a week or so for the paper document to arrive at their office.

The evolution of the information system:

As the system continues to evolve more and more modules and features become available to help providers provide enhanced levels of care to their patients. The latest update to eClinicalWorks (version 11e) allows access to a new tool, they call it EVA (eClinicalWorks Virtual Assistant).

This tool helps improve providers multitasking abilities when inputting and reviewing the medical information of their patients. It also comes with voice recognition features, this means the provider can speak to the system to search for a patient’s chart by saying a few verbal commands. Think of Amazon’s Alexa but for use in medical offices.

On the back-end of things, powerful tools exist like eClinicalWorks Report Studio which is a report writing software. Users are able to write SQL queries to extract specific data from the EHR system. For example, let’s say in 2019 an FQHC is preparing to accept a 100,000-dollar grant from the government which is intended to improve health care for homeless patients in the community. But, before the practice can qualify for the grant they first need to share their meaningful use data on the current population pool. The only way to do this is by building a report that shows this exact data, without access to this tool, you would not be able to extract this data. Report Studio can also help navigate the Quality Improvement (QI) department by helping them discover weak areas within the practice, then implement a PDSA (Plan, Do, Study and Act) plan to work towards improvement.

How the information system affects jobs and careers:

EHR systems have made a huge impact in the healthcare industry, throwing a learning curve at providers, nurses and medical assistants. As of January 1, 2014, a federal mandate required that all public and private healthcare providers transition to a digital record keeping (White, 2016). All medical staff now have to adapt and learn how to use this technology. There is more and more of a demand for all levels of staff to have some kind of Information Technology (IT) background in the healthcare industry.

Today there is a high demand for medical staff to have the skill sets needed to appropriately respond to the emerging technologies that now co-exist in the healthcare industry (Hudston, 2013). There will be a need for leaders in the field to oversee training with the technology, clinical educators now have become guru’s that can adapt to both sides of the healthcare world. They’re able to understand and communicate effectively through medical terminologies as well as maneuver through a technological environment.

Components used and their description of the purpose

There are many components built into the core functionality of an EHR information system, I’ll discuss 3 of the core components. For starters, we have the patients demographic component that is designed to collect as much information as possible about the patient. Their name, date of birth, mailing address, gender, medical insurance, etc. There is also an additional information tab that collects even more information including structured data elements such as family income, citizen/veteran status, seasonal worker, and homelessness.

There are also billing and analytic components built-in for the purpose of analyzing data and managing the practices billing claims. Designated users are able to review billable encounter

claims to ensure that services are being properly billed and allow administrators access to set specific rules or configurations setting with how the billing claims will generate in the system.

Lastly, we have the patient engagement component available, which allows the practice to communicate directly with the patient through text, web portal message, telephone, and email through the built-in campaign and messaging platform. Administrators are able to create messaging templates for the system to send out automatically to patients. The templates range from appointment and prescription reminders to friendly greetings that will wish the patient a happy birthday, etc. The list goes on, there are many components available in the system.

Benefits of the system evolution brought to an organization:

As discussed throughout this paper the invention of an EMR system has efficiently transformed the healthcare industry, the system truly does a wonderful job converting patients paper charts into digital versions, and by doing so, has also improved practice efficiencies and costs.

Switching to this type of information system greatly improves patient care and increases patient participation through improved care coordination. With the ability to now keep more accurate, up-to-date information, sharing the digital copy of information has become simplified. Interfaced pharmacies, laboratories, and practices are able to send and receive patient information securely within a few minutes. Prescription wait times have decreased dramatically, patients receive their medications much sooner. There are many other valuable features available that branch out beyond the scope of this paper, but, the bottom line is any organization who switches over to an EMR information system will greatly improve their patients care.

References

Health IT.gov. (2018, March 21). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? Retrieved from HealthIT.gov: https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehr

Hudston, C. M. (2013). The Impact of Emerging Technology on Nursing Care: Warp Speed Ahead. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18(2). doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol18No02Man01

White, S. (2016). How Electronic health Records Affect Nursing. Retrieved from Monster.com: https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/how-electronic-health-records-affect-nursing