How long should the assessment phase last?
The amount of time required to perform readiness assessments will vary depending on several factors including the size of your practice/hospital/health center, whether your practice/hospital/health center is located in an urban or rural area, and whether your practice/hospital/health center already has an existing EHR system. There is no right or wrong amount of time for a readiness assessment so long as the assessment comprehensively identifies EHR implementation barriers to be addressed before implementation.
Critical outcomes of the assessment process may include:
- A designated leadership teamfor the EHR implementation process (clinical and practice management staff, or for small practices, the entire team). Having strong and positive advocate(s) for change can be one of the strongest tools to guide the transition.
- A unified vision, where each member of the practice team understands how they will be affected by the change and understands the roadmap to success.
- Measureable, quantifiable, realistic goals, which are the key to the assessment phase.
Implementing EHRs – Assessing Your Practice Readiness
If possible, the assessment team should include stakeholders with diverse roles in your practice/hospital/health clinic to leverage each role's expertise in their area of work and to encourage buy-in...
Yes, several tools have been developed to assist physicians, nurses, and office staff in assessing practice readiness. Checklists and methodologies facilitate critical thinking about the kinds of...
We recommend that you set goals in areas that are important and meaningful to your practice. These may be clinical goals, revenue goals or goals around work environment. Goals in all three areas will...
One of the five pillars of meaningful use instructs providers to "engage patients and their families in their health," and it is vital to begin engaging patients in the readiness assessment phase....
The amount of time required to perform readiness assessments will vary depending on several factors including the size of your practice/hospital/health center, whether your practice/hospital/health...
The Basics
The term broadband refers to high-speed internet access. Broadband is different from dial-up internet service for several reasons, including the following:
Broadband service provides a...
The National Broadband Map
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission maintain the National Broadband Map, a tool to search, analyze...
The Basics
Before implementing an electronic health record, you should plan for how your practice/hospital/health center will access broadband. You can access broadband in several different ways:...
The Basics
Access to affordable broadband connectivity sufficent to transmit patient data in a reliable way is a major barrier faced by rural providers.1 If you find your community does not have...
Recommended Minimum Bandwidth Speeds
It is critical you have the broadband capabilities to support your electronic health record (EHR) system. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends...
It's not unusual for some physicians to resist using an electronic health record (EHR), and there can be many reasons for this reluctance. Is he/she uncomfortable using a computer? Does he/she fear...
The assessment phase is foundational to all other implementation activities, and involves determining if the practice is ready to make the change from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs...
Although precise cost estimates are not available, you are not on your own. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) established 62 Regional Extension Centers (...
If possible, the assessment team should include stakeholders with diverse roles in your practice/hospital/health clinic to leverage each role's expertise in their area of work and to encourage buy-in...
Yes, several tools have been developed to assist physicians, nurses, and office staff in assessing practice readiness. Checklists and methodologies facilitate critical thinking about the kinds of...
We recommend that you set goals in areas that are important and meaningful to your practice. These may be clinical goals, revenue goals or goals around work environment. Goals in all three areas will...
One of the five pillars of meaningful use instructs providers to "engage patients and their families in their health," and it is vital to begin engaging patients in the readiness assessment phase....
The amount of time required to perform readiness assessments will vary depending on several factors including the size of your practice/hospital/health center, whether your practice/hospital/health...
The Basics
The term broadband refers to high-speed internet access. Broadband is different from dial-up internet service for several reasons, including the following:
Broadband service provides a...
The National Broadband Map
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission maintain the National Broadband Map, a tool to search, analyze...
The Basics
Before implementing an electronic health record, you should plan for how your practice/hospital/health center will access broadband. You can access broadband in several different ways:...
The Basics
Access to affordable broadband connectivity sufficent to transmit patient data in a reliable way is a major barrier faced by rural providers.1 If you find your community does not have...
Recommended Minimum Bandwidth Speeds
It is critical you have the broadband capabilities to support your electronic health record (EHR) system. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recommends...
It's not unusual for some physicians to resist using an electronic health record (EHR), and there can be many reasons for this reluctance. Is he/she uncomfortable using a computer? Does he/she fear...
The assessment phase is foundational to all other implementation activities, and involves determining if the practice is ready to make the change from paper records to electronic health records (EHRs...
Although precise cost estimates are not available, you are not on your own. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) established 62 Regional Extension Centers (...