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"Electronic Health Records Briefing" is a monthly newsletter that offers HIM supervisors, directors, and managers practical advice on legal concerns, testing and training, physician buy-in, return on investment, change management, and every other topic related to the electronic record transition. It includes sample tools, forms, and policies, advice from legal and technical experts, and lessons from your peers in the industry, all provided to help you clear out from under the mountain of paper records into the new electronic realm.

2007 | 2006 | 2005

Electronic Health Records Briefing

Issue 12, December 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Build your very own EHR dream team

  When choosing the members of your organization's EHR implementation team, consider the...

• Consider these five areas where your EHR implementation efforts could fall short

  Approximately one-third of organizations that begin an EHR implementation never achieve the...

• Protect your EHR security and confidentiality

  Feeling insecure about your health data security? If so, it is no wonder, considering the frequent...

Issue 11, November 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Design an effective change management plan for EHR implementation

  Effectively dealing with the upheaval that can result from EHR implementation requires significant...

• Develop a training plan prior to your EHR rollout

  Citizens Memorial Healthcare (CMH) is a small rural facility in Bolivar, MO, that first started to...

• Perform careful preparation when implementing an EHR in an ambulatory setting

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Part one appeared in the October...

Issue 10, October 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Understand EHR entry authentication

  EHR entry authentication is essential for compliance and to ensure your records are legally...

• Move to patient-centered care grows slowly

  A movement toward patient empowerment is changing the healthcare environment. As consumers become...

• Ensure ambulatory implementation success

  Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series. Part two will appear in the November...

• Computer-assisted coding may be wave of the future

  Editor's note: Because automation in work flow is a current topic of interest for everyone in the...

• Tackle work-flow changes with a plan

  Planning and implementing an EHR or electronic document management solution (EDMS) involves many...

Issue 9, September 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Create an EHR-capable facility from the ground up

  Before the hospital even opened in 2005, leaders at Saint Clare's Hospital, a 107-bed facility...

• Share data correctly with standardized procedures

  "Interoperability" is a word that gets bandied about quite a bit these days. What exactly does it...

• Prepare HIM for EHR implementation

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series. The first part appeared in the...

• CCHIT creates site for NHIN standards

  The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), the Healthcare IT...

Issue 8, August 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ethics and EHRs: Experts weigh in on the top 10 areas to watch

  Although EHRs offer many benefits, they also raise moral concerns, especially regarding patient...

• Connect with users to improve EHR experiences

  As EHRs become more prevalent, organizations are looking for ways to improve EHR usability...

• Collect accurate data to prepare HIM for the EHR

  Those who are on their way to the end of the paper trail and those who have already reached it...

• Draft a configuration management strategy to manage change, keep systems current

  Before you or your vendor take any steps to build the EHR system to your organization's...

• Four must-ask questions to tell if you're ready for EDMS

  In past articles, we've discussed how important an electronic document management system (EDMS) is...

Issue 7, July 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospital installs OpenVista in less than one year

  Open source software is an attractive option for facilities getting ready to make the switch to...

• Always treat EHRs as business records

  Rapidly growing technology and the shift from paper records to EHRs raises the stakes of properly...

• Facility design and layout are critical to EHR success

  The next time you walk down the hallway of your hospital, try to notice how easy (or difficult) it...

• Bipartisan bill introduced during HIT week

  In May, Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced The Health Information...

Issue 6, June 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Manage subpoenas and requests with a clear legal record definition

  As providers replace traditional paper records with electronic document management systems (EDMS...

• Analysis can reveal magic number of charts per hour

  Working with a hybrid record is new, and it's hard to know how many charts you should expect...

• Clear up confusion over paper record retention

  As more organizations choose to store patient charts electronically, the question arises of what to...

• Watch where you park your wheeled computers

  Battery-powered, portable computers-some hospitals are now in the habit of calling them...

Issue 5, May 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Medical identity theft raises new questions for EHRs

  In the electronic world, medical identity theft-including theft involving insurance information-is...

• OIG audits focus on security; watch your EHRs

  The Office of Inspector General (OIG) says it is in the process of conducting HIPAA audits of...

• Revive a stalled implementation project with 'quick wins'

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series. If you're already in the middle...

• Healthcare system trains 11,000 in 18 months

  Learning and communication are the core of facilitywide implementation Editor's note: This...

Issue 4, April 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Government says plan on track for widespread EHR adoption by 2014

  In 2004, when President George W. Bush called for EHRs for most Americans by 2014, the healthcare...

• How to revive a stuck or failed EHR project

  Why some plans don't work and what you can do to minimize your chances of stalling Editor's...

• Don't underestimate the power of solid training

  Conduct an assessment and due diligence up-front Editor's note: This article is the first in a...

• Financial data integrity will get you a healthy bottom line

  Editor's note: This article is a follow-up to the December 2006 and February 2007 EHRB inserts on...

Issue 3, March 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Watch out for EMR-related coding pitfalls

  There's a new trend in coding-and it's a dangerous one. Physicians are using EMR software with...

• Six tips for surefire implementation success

  Joel N. Diamond, MD, FAAFP, implemented an inpatient EHR, including 100% adoption of CPOE at the...

• Chicago hospital launches info-sharing program

  A group of community physicians approached the administration at Silver Cross Hospital in Chicago...

• Experts weigh in on access and speech recognition

  Editor's note: We want your EHR questions! To submit your questions, contact Electronic Health...

Issue 2, February 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bad EHRs make it too easy for malpractice attorneys

  Medical errors occur when a provider makes an error in decision-making. But a medical record...

• Privacy officer should manage EHR access

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Last month, EHRB covered the...

• Participate in the DOQ-IT program, and benefit

  If you've decided to purchase an EHR system but aren't quite sure where to start, CMS has...

• Ask a consultant: Hybrid records vs. document imaging

  Editor's note: Michael Cohen, MM, FHIMSS, president of MRC Consulting Group in St. Charles, IL...

Issue 1, January 1, 2007 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Indiana Heart Hospital keeps working to refine its EHR

  Benefits abound, but when it comes to EHR, there's always room for improvement The Indiana...

• EHRs without thoughtflow equal resistance

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series. In the world of real-time data...

• Security officer should provide technical input

  Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series. Any time the topic of discussion...

• Big business offers PHRs, states develop RHIOs and treat patients remotely

  Five big companies-Applied Materials, Pitney Bowes, Wal-Mart, Intel, and British Petroleum-are...