Title: Engineering the EMR habitat through workflow design in a specialty setting

Authors: Patricia A. Nail; Yu-Li Huang

Addresses: Sandia National Laboratories, System Engineering, 1515 Eubank SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA ' Mayo Clinic, Systems and Procedures, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA

Abstract: Electronic medical records (EMRs) are the wave of the near future for healthcare documentation. Organisations have begun the process of integrating electronic workflows with their existing and the evidence-based work. Basic workflow analysis is essential to accomplish the goals of a well-integrated EMR which sets a standard for balanced organisational ecology and a stable EMR habitat for the system and its users. This paper presents a standard approach for analysing the needs and workflow impact of EMR implementation. Results presented here are garnered from EMR implementation in a cardiology specialty to demonstrate a best practice standardised regimen for identifying pitfalls and procedural issues related to implementation of EMR and addressing those issues in a manner consistent with easing adaptation to the entire EMR habitat. The example of medication refill demonstrates the rapid changes of turnaround time from two to three days to less than 2 hours and a 6% improvement in patient satisfaction.

Keywords: electronic medical records; EMRs; workflow design; healthcare management; process improvement; patient satisfaction; health system; health information management; HIM; cardiology; best practice; EMR implementation; medication refill; electronic health records; EHRs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.2015.074554

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2015 Vol.15 No.2, pp.124 - 141

Accepted: 22 Nov 2015
Published online: 05 Feb 2016 *

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