With the rise in focus on population health by large health systems and hospitals, many executives and stakeholders are left scratching their heads to understand why the epic (no pun intended) investment in their EHR isn’t getting the job done. The reality is that most EHR systems were designed for the Fee-For-Service days, and there simply aren’t quick enough adaptations in those technologies to address the vital importance of tracking patient outcomes, not just codes. We’ve seen clients point to their behemoth health records system as the solution to a myriad of patient management problems, but it takes a comprehensive approach to healthcare technology to leverage (not lean on) an established EHR to make population health management possible.

We recently shared how important it is to engage the right resources for an EHR implementation for a health system or hospital. What precludes this process at times is identifying the “weak links” on the team who are holding up progress. Gross malalignments of talent and tasks are pretty easy to spot, but some of what we’ll share today are the more subtle ways that you can detect where there are barriers to progress on implementing EHR systems, or healthcare technology in general for your organization or clients. Because timelines are real and budgets are locked in, you simply can’t afford to press forward with logjams or, worse, balls dropped by ill-equipped or poorly-motivated resources.

One of the measures of a successful healthcare IT implementation is the “stickiness” of the technology. But to be fair, this is generally more a reflection of the total project efforts, versus the technology itself. Was training sufficient to encourage adoption and gain traction with end users? Are the ROIs being realized to justify the expense and effort? Is the thruput and quality of patient care enhanced by the health technology implemented? Specifically when it comes to Revenue Cycle Optimization solutions, moving the needle on charge capture, collections, and registration ease goes a long way in justifying the RCM project and establishing stickiness. But, as with anything, we can’t expect that the tech will do the work for us. One of the most vital steps that a Revenue Cycle Project Lead can take before implementing the vendor-of-choice’s software is to understand existing workflows, where there are barriers, and what opportunities exist to optimize before the solution is even delivered.

Let’s dive more into workflow assessments and why they can be so valuable for making Revenue Cycle Optimization truly stick!

When it comes to EHR Training, making the most of these resource-intensive sessions is key to ensuring the payoff is worth the effort. A lot of planning by training leads goes into delivering classroom or virtual instruction on an EHR (such as Cerner, which we’ll highlight today) to ensure the time spent by clinical resources -- including busy physicians and RNs -- is valuable and effective for supporting Go-Live efforts and encouraging adoption. (After all, those expected ROIs won’t manifest themselves!) Well-developed training materials and modules are clutch for delivering Cerner Training during EHR implementation projects, but today we’re going to touch on a few simple “housekeeping” items that will help set the stage for effective sessions and maximum absorption of vital information. These aren’t earth-shattering in complexity, but we’ve seen clients overlook the simple value of a few preparation steps that can really impact how effective (or not) is a training session.

When it comes to large health systems, one of the biggest challenges is coordinating care amongst various disparate locations. Especially in the absence of a unifying EHR instance to connect ancillary and core healthcare providers, understanding where a patient is in the care continuum and how to minimize friction as the acutely and chronically ill move between and within treatment facilities is vital. Chasing activity from ED to rehab, PCP to surgical center, ambulatory clinic to ambulance, it gets confusing and messy fast. In the realm of healthcare IT solutions, interoperability continues to be one of the most promising avenues for addressing these challenges. In terms of cost savings and risk management, improving communication of health conditions and streamlining the flow of health information between providers is paramount. Interoperability initiatives and technologies are at the forefront of the promising steps toward realizing true population management and quality care.

With over 20 years of experience as a registered nurse, Kelly Moxon brings a wealth of insight into her work as a MEDITECH Consultant.

While it’s not uncommon to expect that most health systems will have multiple environments in which Healthcare IT partners can develop and test, it’s nevertheless important that technical resources understand the complexities involved with exchanging PHI (Protected Health Information). Even in the most prudently managed and designed staging environment, it’s possible for “production” patient data to find its way into the folds, be it a poor job masking records or a snafu in a bulk load process. Regardless, one of the best ways that EHR Integration and Testing experts can bolster the security and confidence of their clients or organization is to participate in voluntary HIPAA Training.

Process optimization can go a long way in executing a large-scale EHR implementation for healthcare organization, but at the end of the day, what we’re really talking about are tools. Wielding the tools? People. You cannot overlook the importance of human resources when it comes to project planning for technical implementations. And while this might seem like Health IT Biz Ops 101, what we often see overlooked is making sure you don’t just have stellar people on deck, but that you have the right people in the right positions.

When managing an integration project for healthcare IT (or otherwise), you’re essentially serving as the glue that holds everything together. You’re responsible for client satisfaction and communication, corralling project resources -- including vendors, contractors, developers, and more -- and keeping an eye on both the scope and the budget the ensure no unpleasant surprises upon delivery (or as a barrier to, in some cases). Best practices for project management can somewhat vary by industry, but there are a few key tips for healthcare IT integration efforts that can help a PM stand out from the crowd and encourage future SOWs from a given client.

Ken Bradberry, CPHIMS - Senior VP & CTO at The HCI Group explores the future of cloud technologies and how Epic can be integrated into strategic cloud computing services.

In today’s healthcare organizations, cloud services have become a strategic alternative to traditional application delivery. Cloud computing isn’t anything new to IT, and it now has the potential to change how healthcare organizations deliver cost effective, quality driven services to their patients. Considering the ever-increasing costs of keeping the lights on spending for IT, healthcare providers have no choice but to embrace the cloud in some form. This transformation is being driven by several forces, but the most basic are to cut costs and improve the quality of care.