Strategies to Advance EHR Optimization
Actionable advice about how to develop a comprehensive approach to iteratively improve your Electronic Health Record System.
As a result of external considerations, healthcare organizations are under increased pressure because of demographic changes. Patients are requiring more access to care and are demanding more convenient care. But EHR solutions are expensive.
Let us show you how value-based care, coupled with EHR optimization, can lead to transformational change in healthcare delivery, moving healthcare from a transactional to preventative model.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Value-based care, coupled with EHR optimization, can lead to transformational change in healthcare delivery, moving healthcare from a transactional to preventative model.
- Using a structured approach to EHR optimization initiative will drive alignment, identify IT automation priorities, and dig deep into continuous process-improvement.
Impact and Result
- Discover and address process gaps in your current EHR solution.
- Ensure alignment with EHR process and business capabilities within your organization.
- Identify and action specific optimization tactics and approaches.
Strategies to Advance Electronic Health Record (EHR) Optimization
Actionable advice on how to develop a comprehensive approach to iteratively improve your EHR system.
EHR Optimization Overview
This research is designed for:
- Hospital and healthcare CIOs and business leaders seeking to re-evaluate their current EHR solution.
- Hospital and healthcare CIOs and business leaders looking for advice about developing an EHR optimization roadmap.
- Health departments and Health Information Exchanges (HIE) routing data between clinical providers and payers.
This research will help you:
- Understand the evolution of the EHR market to uncover strategic areas to improve your EHR.
- Identify and align stakeholders with a common vision for optimization.
- Develop a plan for feature releases and tactics that can help you optimize your existing EHR.
- Ask the right questions prior to and during an optimization phase.
This research will also assist you with:
- Discovering and addressing process gaps in your current EHR solution.
- Ensuring alignment with EHR process and business capabilities within your organization.
- Identifying and actioning specific optimization tactics and approaches (through other Info-Tech Research provided).
Benefits of EHR Optimization
Outcomes of a successful system EHR improvement strategy.
- Decreased length of patient stay in an acute care setting by improving charting tools, bed management, access to imaging files, diagnostic tests, and discharge planning.
- Improved patient safety by mitigating adverse drug events and readmissions through providing accurate, real-time information about patients at the point of care.
- Streamlined patient access through standardized quality assurance processes that reduce claim denials and improve revenue cycle management.
- Secure sharing of patient information within and outside of current point-of-care settings that will enable convenient and reliable care.
- Evolved clinical decision support tools to drive rules focused on automation and best practices in clinical documentation.
- Reduced variability of care by developing workflows that improve EHR operational governance and clinical pathways.
- Development of real-time performance tracking by using established business analytic tools and integrated dashboards.
Digital health record implementation costs vary from $5 million to over $20 million. It is important to identify and mitigate hidden costs during a deployment cycle including decreased revenue, loss of productivity, and decreased patient visits.
–Jeff Green, EHR in Practice, 2022.
What is the difference between an electronic health record and an electronic medical record?
| An electronic health record is a longitudinal record of patient treatment history, compiled from multiple clinical sources. It can be shared, with patient consent. | An electronic medical record is a single record of patient treatment history stored within a health care provider, compiled from one clinical source. |
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Source: “What Information?” Health IT.
Simplified health IT clinical record landscape
Source: “A Simplified Diagram”, Research Gate.
EHR Adoption and Optimization Trends
Electronic health record adoption is widespread among hospitals and private practices.
The Office of the National Coordinator reported that 95% of US hospitals have implemented an electronic health record system.
Source: “Electronic Health Record Adoption”, Health IT.
HIMSS Analytics recently published a report which indicated that two-thirds of health IT leaders are currently using cloud-based technologies.
Source: EHR Intelligence, 2020
One of the biggest drivers for EHR adoption is to improve decision making and knowledge. As a result of external considerations, healthcare organizations are under increased pressure because of demographic changes. Patients are requiring more access to care and are demanding more convenient care.
Info-Tech Insight
Value-based care coupled with EHR optimization can lead to transformational change in healthcare delivery moving healthcare from a transactional to preventative model.
Global EHR market analysis
Over 500 vendors are competing in the healthcare marketplace with some type of EHR solution.
- Market size has been estimated at USD 27.2 billion in 2021 with a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0% over the next eight years (Grandview Research, 2021).
- Acute care comprises over 40% of the EHR implementations, with Ambulatory and Post-Acute making up the remainder of implementations.
- My Health Record is an Australian EHR initiative that is designed to enable broad health record interoperability across the nation.
- In 2021, 50% of new EHR implementations were cloud-based and are popular with physicians and healthcare providers.
- Cerner is a market leader in the global EHR market with a presence in Africa, Europe, Latin-America, and the Middle-East.
- InterSystems, Epic, eClinicalWorks, Dedalus, MEDITECH, Allscripts, AfgaHealthCare, NextGen, Phillips, GE, and ChipSoft are also represented globally. (Klas Research, 2019)
Electronic health record (EHR) implementations by system type
(Source: Grandview Research, 2022).
Four vendors comprise 77% of the ambulatory EHR market
Serving acute care and specialty hospitals.
Purchasing activity and contract observations in 2020.
- Contracting varied through 2020, with 77 hospitals reporting an impact on their existing contract during Q1 of the year.
- Epic remains a leader in the U.S. EHR marketplace, capturing just over 1/3 of the acute care market.
- Vendors adding hospital beds: Allscripts +13 and Epic +19,247.
- Cerner secured 19 contracts with standalone hospitals, followed by Meditech and Epic.
Source: (Beckers Hospital Review, 2021).
Top EHR vendors by U.S. market share
Klas Research, 2021
EHR post-implementation pain points
Pervasive stakeholder frustrations after electronic health record system implementations
| Administration | Data | Clinical | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changing priorities | Data hygiene | Clinical adoption | Cumbersome user interfaces |
| Unclear objectives | Data access | Team training | Poor vendor support |
| Reoccurring vendor maintenance costs | Analytical reports | Change management | Intra-system interoperability |
| Billing errors | Lack of complete patient information | Medication errors | Rapid vendor updates causing break-fix scenarios |
EHR operationalization lifecycle:
System stabilization
- Providers can return to regular levels of productivity.
- High and medium-priority issues from go-live are resolved.
Provider proficiency
- All practice areas have adopted new workflows.
- Check-point to identify and move to the enhancement cycle.
System enhancements
- Low priority issues identified during launch must be addressed.
- Ongoing training is in place and provider relationship management is well established.
- Performance metrics are in place and stable.
Source: ECG Management Consultants
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