E-Prescribing

E-Prescribing has the capacity to send error free, accurate and logical prescription to pharmacy, for the point of care.

E-Prescribing

Electronic Prescribing or e-Prescribing has just taken place of the traditional papers and faxed prescriptions. E-Prescribing is basically the computer based medical prescription, which allows physicians, doctors, nurses and medical technologists to electronically communicate with the patients. E-prescribing has the capacity to send error free, accurate and logical prescription, straight forward to the pharmacy, for the point of care. We can say that it is an essential element to improve the quality of patient care. It decreases the risks which are associated with the traditional prescription work. E-Prescribing is one of the main reasons to push the Electronic Medical Records, which use to connect the patient with the team of health care providers to assist informed decision making.

Main components of e-Prescribing

The basic components of e-Prescribing system are;

·        Prescriber- A typically a person.

·        Transaction Hub

·        Pharmacy with fulfilled electronic prescribing software.

·        Pharmacy Benefit Manager (EBM)

Benefits of e-Prescribing

E-prescribing proposes clinicians an influential device for security and competently handling their patient's medications. Compared to paper-based prescribing, e-prescribing can improve patient safety and medication agreement; improve recommending accurateness and effectiveness, to reduce health care costs through avoided adverse drug events and substitution of less expensive drug alternatives. Following are some main benefits of e-Prescribing.

Improvements in Patient’s Quality care

A hand written prescription has been eliminated, which actually increases the risk of medication error. E-prescription helps to improve the quality of patient’s safety, as it is completely digital, the chances of error are less as compared to written material. It allows to access patient’s medical health records and their medical history.

Decreasing the Time

While working with the e-Prescribing, it is assured that the time limit must be reduced. E-Prescriptions saves the time.  E-Prescribing are used to decreased the number of pharmacy call-backs, which are related to the ineligibility, pharmacy benefits, wrong prescription choices, reducing the amount of wasted time on phone. This impact positively on the efficiency of workflow.

 Prescription Renewal Request

By the usage of e-Prescribing, it is an automatic process of renewal authorization that provides benefits to both physicians as well as the patients. Within the limited resources, they can accomplish a medication renewal task while improving constant patient documentation.

Increasing Medication Submission

It was noticed that 20% of paper based prescription orders went unfilled because of the limited time, dropping off the paper and to waiting for it fulfillment.  By eliminate or decrease the number of this waiting period, this will definitely increase the performance of this process which may result in patient’s satisfaction.

Challenges and Limitations

E-Prescribinghas an ability to work properly in the field of health records. But still it is facing some challenges and limitations which includes;

·        The main challenge of e-Prescribing is change management. The changing between papers based prescriptions to the e-prescription. It seems difficult for its users to switch suddenly paper based prescription into e-prescriptions.

·        Choosing the correct hardware and software applications is very scary task. Many have access to information technology, to get to know how to start? , correct vendor selection and meaningful use.

Unplanned documents entry errors such as choosing the wrong patient or connecting on the wrong choice in a list of options of quantities may occur. Software vendors should frequently review user reactions and monitor best practices in user boundary plan.

Health Care Risk Assessment

Systems of IT are tangled with policies, processes and operations along with a bunch of applications, data and system

Health Care Risk Assessment

Health care industry is facing lots of emerging risks now a day which are related to the reforms of health care. The industry is also managing traditional risks which includes; compensation costs of workers, unprofessional conduction of claims, exposures of practice and other varied obligations in competitive environment including reducing reimbursement. That is the reason that health care providers needs new ways for risk management which combine innovative solutions with the understanding of issues and requirements of health care industry.

Health care organizations are operating an IT systems with data, applications and systems. Sometimes the system takes too long to sort out the breakdown and cost the organization in thousands of dollars. This the reason of saying that health care organizations are reliant on IT, implement a risk assessment to estimate any possible risks.

There are some basic steps which help the organizations to do the health care assessment.

Assess level of effect for risks

After making a space for all the risks, you should also measure the possible influence of all factors. For example, loss of life, the total effect of a power outage, limited to complete system outage or even a break of protected health information and extra issues should also be measured which can distress millions of people.

Measuring of the risk level

You must know about the risks you are facing being an organization. This can be completed by allocating statistical morals to the risks after a conversation with your staff. Even though several of the risks are basically particular in nature, it is always better to allocate them statistical morals in order to get a beginning point. After passing on the risk levels, you must document them in a database in order to compute the total weighted score for assessment.

Strategy and innovation

This is important to make you sure that you have complete knowledge regarding hazards and you are totally prepared for any kind of threats accordingly. The possibility of each tragedy taking place based on environmental and historical data which must be recorded.

Review of plan of action

The next step must be reviewing the plan of action carefully or the nonexistence for each item of risk. You only require to put in writing about the measures which must be taken in case of any tragedies that may be you have to face. Such kind of plans come within reach in an adversity condition and save plenty of effort or time. Simply allocate statistical standards for every item which is based on the level of planning you are going to put in place.

Assessment of the results

You are supposed to be able to get a mark of your health care risk assessment. It doesn’t matter if you score a higher or lower mark as far as you have given contained weighted scores for each of the risks. A lower score giving you the meaning of the risk which attitudes a greater risk. You should have a risk moderation plan of action for every item given a score of fewer. Getting a solid tragedy plan of recovery and a verified interruption procedure will moderate lots of risks for any of the organizations.

Ways to conduct the health care risk assessment

There are different ways to conduct the health care risk assessment including;

·        Analysis of risk

·        Collecting of recent documentations

·        Identifying of issues and threats

·        Analyzing of recent measures of security issues

·        Conclude the possibility and influence of pressures

·        Regulate the risk level

Notify the current security measures.

Perception of physician about EHR system

By identifying the kind of perception they possess, they may be on top of the secret of why they like or dislike their EHR system, or why they use them in a positive way.

Perception of physician about EHR system

Technology and its usage is always being the big challenge for the physicians. It is saying that physicians do not like the technologies. But somehow physicians have accepted the EHR software in their practices. The electronic health record system is the correct way to follow in the future by the health care providers.

Either they get it or not, approximately, all physicians perceive and respond to improbability in their own way and which can affect the way they use their freshly installed electronic health record system.

There are number of steps which can be taken to change the point of view of physician regarding an electronic health record system.

Concentrate on positive impact

Because of meaningful use of EHR system, as directed by the center of Medicare and Medicaid services, providers can get financial incentives. It is a common misconception of physicians that the EHR software would slow down the output of their medical services. Providers can achieve huge incentives if they start using EHR system in their medical practices as soon as possible for them.

Effectiveness of cost

Paper based record system is an outdated way to maintain the medical records of patient. With the help of electronic health record software, the practice save space of storage by maintaining all records digitally. There is no need to open the file cabinets upon the other cabinets to track a specific patient record. Money of paper cost, whereas electronically handling data costs close to nothing. The staff requires to uphold records is multifold less than the paper based record practice will require.

Interoperability

The providers, labs, hospitals, patients, pharmacies and their families of health care industry, through the use of EHRs can be fed up of with real time data. Electronic health record system agreed for the transmission of patient related data which is in different file formats too. One important feature of an interoperable system is an ability to deliver patient data wherever the patient travels and move, that is, data across the different states can be gain access to the real time along with the patient.

Handling of uncertainty by physicians

Researchers have found some categories for the perception of physicians of uncertainty that how they would manage with their EHR system. It is also observed that the category of physicians can help to identify that how physician is using EHRsystem. And what changes have noticed.

Doubtful decline

◾Patient’s view of information controlled the medical record as dominant to the medicine practice.

◾try to search ways to use information to decrease the uncertainty.

◾priority should be given to the organized patient information over other types of patient information (tone of patient physician interaction, patient body language, tacit and difficult to capture characteristics of encounter of patients, etc.)

◾It is believes that more information, specially the classes of data that can be caught in an EHR system.

Doubtful hybrid

◾Patient’s view of information controlled the medical record as dominant to the medicine practice.

◾Visions of the exchange and creation of information between physicians and patients during the encounter of patient as vital to the practice of medicine.

◾Accomplishes improbability about the information limited in the medical record and about the communications with others.

◾Be certain of getting more information which is necessary but not enough for better care of patients.

In the end, providers are valid to be frightened the fast step of government in introducing Electronic health record systems. But to consider about it clearly will make them understand that there is no other way, the world has progressed in the future of healthcare IT and we have to catch up now.

Workflow for the EHR

Usability and reduction in competence are some of the reasons for the physicians dissatisfaction with the technology.

Workflow for the EHR

Implementation on an EHR system is not an easy task, either you are switching it from the paper based record system or moving to a new EHR software, it always impact positively in the every process of your practice. The workflow of the electronic health record system will get the best out of efficiency and productivity for your practice, to make you sure about the design, smooth changeover and plan ahead.

The environment of the EHR system hasn’t need to be that way and providers can play a role for getting in the industry to solid ground in which workflow of EHR designed are.

Unusual

Most of the electronic health record system do not match the task of healthcare structure. The definition of workflow is a sequences of responsibilities achieving goals and overwhelming resources. If you EHR’s workflow does not match the required workflows to perform patient meetings successfully and professionally, those tasks will be achieved, if at all, in the only another way: ineffectually and incompetently.

Unpredictable

Comparable information within an EHR system may need totally different workflows to right to use, it depends on which vendor or which programmer have written the specific module.

Beside the point

At step of workflow, only a minor division of the possible options of entry or data are applicable, however users face high-resolution displays. Users can easily be overcome with not relevant data and options for data entry.

Uncooperative

Mostly EHR software are fail to sustenance user-shared models of workflow. One of the main benefits of paper-based workflow is that forms and documents can openly and visually represent the state of workflow. Whoever has the documents, has obtained the responsibility. Whatsoever rests to be filled out signs what leftovers is to be done. As an alternative, workflow state is concealed in obscure screens and database tables.

Inflexibility

Most important thing is that workflow of EHR is inflexible. If the software is unusual, unpredictable, irrelevant, and unaccommodating after the installation, it could not change easily to become natural, reliable, applicable, and reassuring.

Areas of serious workflow

During the redesign process of workflow, your implementation team of EHR should be focused on the important areas of workflow that can be affected by EHR implementation such as:

·       Visits of patient

·        E-Prescribing

·        Scheduling of appointment

·        Orders for laboratory

·        Referral management and generation

·        Office discharge

·        Billing

This workflow list is not extensive, so be sure to examine all features of patient’s flow in your medical practices. It does not matter if you have started it from anywhere.

Start the process of Redesign workflow by defining the present workflow of your practice. Work together with physicians and other members of staff across the practice or institute that will put up your recognized goals and maximize output. Take into interpretation of even the smallest details like which procedures are used for documentation. Define the important pointers that you want to extent and measure those indicators to establish a baseline. As you describe your present workflow, look for current problems. This will help you to classify the functionality you require in an EHR system to overcome these issues.

After present workflows have been well-defined and assessed, create goals for upcoming workflows, such as the achievement of Meaningful Use. Your EHR vendor must be able to provide you best practices procedures, and should contribute you in re-engineering your workflows in the preparation for the implementation of electronic health record software. Be sure about asking the best practices of vendor’s procedures and operation service area before you select an EHR system.