Technology's Impact on Workflow: Taking a Cue from Healthcare IT Reform

Jennifer Dennard, E-Media Marketing Specialist; and Jessica Clifton, Product Development Manager
April 21, 2010


Much has been written about the transition to electronic medical records: Are they helpful? Are they easy to implement and use? Do they focus too much on billing at the expense of patient care?

A recent Wall Street Journal article entitled " Can Technology Cure Healthcare? " cites a 2009 American Journal of Medicine study that found that hospitals with advanced IT systems, on average, fare no better than less-wired facilities on measures of administrative costs, even if the systems might "modestly improve" performance on certain quality measures.

The article goes on to state that many doctors and nurses say "they're frustrated with the technology. While some say electronic records have improved the way they practice medicine, many others say the systems are time-consuming distractions that take away from patient care."

Billian's HealthDATA Director of Business Development Lisa Reichard, RN, gained a first-hand look at the EMR adoption experience at a recent Registered Nurse refresher at a local 240-bed hospital. During the 13-week clinical, she worked both eight- and 12-hour shifts on a unit providing inpatient, post-operative care.

"I found myself immersed in a whole new world," Reichard explains. "There was no charting by hand, no deciphering of hand-written physician orders flagged with page separators, and long-hand medication administration records were a thing of the past.

"No longer did I have to ask a peer 'What does this say?' when I couldn't read illegible handwriting; and the 'silos of charting' where nurses and physicians used to chart in separate areas, sometimes creating duplication and disconnected charting, were nonexistent," she adds.

"Physician engagement and collaboration regarding the CPOE aspect of the EMR was very positive. They took ownership of the unit-specific standing orders they had developed, and complied with CPOE guidelines."

Though Reichard came away from the experience with overall positive observations, she did acknowledge some system implementation obstacles.  "A challenge to user adoption was the fact that, in an acute hospital setting, there are numerous PRN and part-time staff, plus temporary residents constantly rotating through the patient care areas," she says.  Both the availability of full-time tech support and on-going user engagement seemed crucial components to successful EMR adoption at the facility.  

Difficulty adapting to and navigating a new IT system is a pain point not unique to the healthcare arena. Professionals across a multitude of industries lose sight of the long-term goals and benefits of new technology when wading through the murky waters of learning a new system - be it a new EMR installation, new accounting software, or a new CRM.

User-adoption hesitation, resistance to change and additional resource requirements are all typically encountered on the path to new IT adoption. Initial hiccups should not overshadow the fact that using technology as a conduit to streamline workflow processes ultimately improves performance and drives better outcomes. 

While improved outcomes may carry more weight as they relate to the quality of patient care, the perpetual pursuit of those improved outcomes is a vital component to the success of any organization.   

The entire account of Reichard's experience can be found at her blog by clicking here.

- By Jessica Clifton, Product Development Manager,
and Jennifer Dennard, E-Media Marketing Specialist