The Agility EHR 10 Technology for the UMUC - Case Study Example

UMUC Family Clinic Case Study, Stage 4: It and Legal Considerations for Proposed EHR Technology Solution Part UMUC is a family clinic that was founded in the year 1980 by Dr. Tom Martin who was graduate from the University of Maryland. Over the years, the clinic has been efficiently delivering services to patients. However, with the emergence of the contemporary scenario, it has become mandatory for organizations in any sector to implement IT in their operations in every possible business functions. Contextually, like any other companies, UMUC has also been focusing towards implementing latest technologies in their operations. In the stage 2 of the assignment, Electronic Health Records (EHR) technology solution has been recommended for the operations of the organization i.e. UMUC Family Clinic to upgrade their operations. The technology that has been proposed in the stage 2 of the study is the Agility EHR 10 software that has the potential to change the overall outlook of the healthcare organization (Wager et. al. 2013). The agility EHR is a particular system that will assist the UMUC family clinic to better comprehend their reporting of the functions of the heath care unit. It has been observed that the Certification Commission has certified the system for Health Information Technology. Notably, this particular system seeks to ensure best possible operations of the healthcare units within the sector. In this regard, it can be stated that the UMUC family clinic has been one of the oldest in terms of operational experience and has the urgent need to adopt latest and upgraded technologies for ensuring efficient operations. The EHR Agility system has the potential to enhance organization’s operations that would benefit it in numerous ways. Observably, some of the core objectives of the implementation of the EHR agility system include maintaining proper list of medication, computerized entry of the medical orders with the help of licensed professionals, deliver prescriptions to the patients electronically and decision making of the operations of the UMUC family clinic (Skolnik, 2011). The Agility EHR 10 technology is the proposed solution for the UMUC family healthcare unit. It is an integrated program in the domain of medical record keeping that is fully certified by the ONC-ATCB. It has been evaluated that this particular technology or software is also used as a practice management tool and it is intended to meet the unique need of the healthcare organizations. It will also be worth mentioning that this particular system also has the potential use in varied domain of the medical sector including Workers Compensation Clinics, Employee Onsite and Occupational Medicine among others. Some of the beneficial features of the EHR agility system include its comprehensiveness; it is easy to use features and the speed of conducting the activities among others. The features of this particular system software also include its ability to produce strong clinical charting, proper financial reporting, insurance billing and proper receivable management among others. It has further been analyzed that EHR has also been built with certain specific characteristics that meet the needs of the requirements of patients related with verification of the drugs used for their treatment. The technology or the software of EHR also includes features that can execute tasks comprising protocol management, drug management as well as billing among others (EHR Scope LLC, 2014). In precise it can be stated that the software has the ability to meet record keeping needs of the healthcare sector with utmost efficacy. Certain development is expected in the operations of the organization after successful implementation of the system. It is anticipated that with the implementation of the Agility EHR software within UMUC family clinic, the organization will immediately see improvement in the domain of record keeping process. Notably, the software provides flexibility in the operations of healthcare organizations especially in the domain of document management of the patients and the employees. Analysis in this particular aspect suggests that the software enables the organizations to customize the notes and documents involved in individual interaction amid patients and clinic staffs. Furthermore, in the presence of the Agility EHR software provides readymade templates for the officials in the healthcare unit, which further assists them to interact with the patients and gather information from them to decide on the care they needed (Sinha, 2011). This makes the process of gathering information fast and efficient to a considerable margin. This further enhances the overall working process of the health care unit. Again, it has also been noted that in the health care sector nurses and doctors are required to analyze the previous history of the patients in order to conduct their activities efficiently. In this regard, the role of Agility EHR software as it stores the historical data of the patients to be used in the future (Agility EHR, n.d.). In order to ensure successful implementation of the software within the workplace of the healthcare organizations, there are certain specific needs of hardware, software and communications components. As per the description in the stage 2 of the assignment, some of the additional software that will be required for the proper implementation of the software comprises Cerner Multum, Multum VantageRx version 3, Elsevier and ExitCare version 7.5. The Cerner Multum software will work towards providing cost effective solutions for adverse drug events. This software is designed with the intention to enhance the overall healthcare operations (Cerner Corporation, 2014). Again, the Multum VantageRx version 3 software provides a range of solutions where it helps in obtaining data relevant to the basic drug need of the patients within UMUC clinic. This particular software also provides solutions relevant to the drug utilization review (DUR) as well as medication information with regard to the daily operations of the healthcare unit (2Cerner Corporation, 2014). The Elsevier and ExitCare version 7.5 software is also regarded as an effective tool of communication that will ensure proper connection amid the staffs and the patients within the operations of UMUC family clinic. This particular technology provides innovative solutions to the communication problems of the healthcare organizations (Elsevier CDS, 2014). Notably, in order to ensure successful implementation of the Agility EHR system within the operations of UMUC family clinic, there are also certain specific hardware components that are mandatorily required. Some of the hardware that are required for Agility EHR implementation include personal computers with minimum configuration of core i3 Processor, four gigabytes (4gb) random access memory (RAM) and five hundred (500) gigabytes hard disk memory along with laser-colored printer and Microsoft MySQL server for data storage among others. Each of the mentioned hardware components are quite vital to ensure effective functioning of the Agility EHR software (Scarlat, 2012). Part 2 Table of Considerations Area High/Medium/Low Importance or Relevance or Not Applicable (N/A) Explanation for Ranking /How you will address it (minimum 2 sentences for each, linked to specific EHR technology solution proposed) I. IT - Operational Safeguards 1. Identity Management & Authorization “It is a particular process used in determining the identity of the users for privacy and security reasons” High The Agility EHR system involves the use of patient’s confidential data to provide them with better services. Hence, UMUC clinic will form user account in the absence of which people will not be able to access the EHR system. 2. Training Programs “Training programs are particular measures of organizations to enhance the skills and competencies of the people about any particular function of organization” Medium The Agility EHR system is a particular system software that the staffs of the UMUC family clinic are little familiar. Hence, it is important to provide proper training to the healthcare staffs to ensure that they are able to operate the Agility system with efficiency. 3. Continuity of Operations “Continuity of operations of any system depicts the factors that assure smoothness of the operations in time of any unanticipated events” Medium Proper and uninterrupted functioning of the Agility is crucial to have better results for the healthcare unit. Hence, measures will be taken to deal with any uncertain events in the future relevant to the system. 4. Incident Procedures “Incident procedures refers to the approach where the negative incidents are reported about any system” Medium Since the implementation of any new technology involves its own affect (both positive and negative), it is important to have proper incident management strategies. Contextually, as per the HITECH Act, UMUC will train the staffs regarding the probable negative aspect of system that they need to convey to the management when detected. 5. Accountability “Refers to the aspect of responsibility that is involved with the process of executing a new strategy” Medium Since the Agility EHR is a new system to be implemented in the healthcare unit, the aspect of accountability will be taken into consideration. In this regard, UMUC should develop a team that will look after the implementation and execution of the HER system. 6. Risk Assessment “It is a process of analyzing the risk involved in any particular strategic plan” High Similar to that of its advantages, there might also be certain negative impact of the Agility EHR system to the healthcare unit. In this context, proper risk activities will be conducted with the help of the past results of its implementation in other healthcare units. 7. System Activity Review “It is the process of auditing the effectiveness and continuous review of the information system implemented” Medium Review of the Agility EHR system post implementation will be conducted by UMUC with the assistance of patient and staff feedback and observation, reviewing of the incident reports and reviewing of the facilities provided by the system among others. II. IT - Architectural Safeguards 8. Reliability “It is the capability of the system to offer a level of services under any particular situation” Medium The aspect of reliability for the Agility EHR system will be assessed by UMUC clinic with the assistance of its ability of the system to ensure data confidentiality and data availability among others. 9. Availability “Availability refers to the aspect of evaluating the authentication used to access the system” Medium In order to assure and determine the implementation of the Agility EHR software, the UMUC clinic will develop several user accounts with which staff will be able to access to the system. 10. Maintainability “Maintainability refers to the ease of maintaining any particular system” Medium Prior to the implementation of the Agility EHR software, UMUC will comprehend about the corrections and improvements that can be made in the system in time of need. 11. Scalability “Scalability is a particular approach of evaluating the limit or the extent of a system to execute tasks” Medium Prior to the implementation of the Agility EHR software, UMUC will comprehend the extent of the ability of the software to perform varied task. 12. Safety “Safety refers to the aspect of security provided by any system” High The Agility EHR system obtains confidential data with regard to the patients that is used directly for the operations of the organization. Hence, steps such restricted access or authorized accessed will be taken into consideration to ensure that the patients are not harmed by the system. 13. Cloud Computing “It includes a server from which all the other networks are managed” Medium UMUC will form a team that will look after the operations of the Agility EHR system. The system will be connected with one specific server from which the functions of the entire healthcare workplace will be supervised. III. IT - Project Management Considerations 14. Project Resources (Human, Financial) “It includes the resources required for the completion of the project” High Some of the resources including finance, human resource and legal clearances for the system implementation will be forecasted prior to the implementation of the EHR system and subsequently frame the project plan. 15. Medical Paper Record Migration “It involves relocation of the past medical records of the patients to the present system” High The management at UMUC clinic will be careful while relocating the past and present medical data of the patients including reports, prescribed drugs and physical examination results to the EHR software. 16. Change Management during Implementation “Change management refers to the best approach of implementing a change” Medium UMUC clinic will emerge with the process of prioritization and organization where all staff members will be assembled under one platform and will be explained about the need of implanting the proposed EHR system. 17. Change Management after Implementation “It refers to the steps involve in ascertaining the effectiveness of the change post its implementation” Medium The management of the organization tract the effectiveness of the change prior to its implementation through evaluating the milestones that were attained post implementation of the EHR system. IV. Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Reporting Considerations 18. Business Associate Contracts “A contract signed between the service provider and the organization” Medium UMUC will ensure that it has been involved in a proper legal contract with the EHR service provider. 19. HIPAA “ It is a particular Act that ensures privacy and confidentiality of patients’ data” High UMUC will adhere to all legal requirements for implementing the EHR system as per the HIPAA. V. Additional Consideration 20. Fail-Safe Design “It involves the formation of a plan in case of any malfunction of the system” Medium UMUC will develop an alternative plan to control the operations in case the EHR fails to work as per the expected level. Source: (Gugerty & McCormick, 2013). References Agility HER. (n.d.). Agility EHR helps Tennessee urgent care associates streamline operations and dramatically improve documentation. Retrieved from http://login.agilityehr.com/images/CaseStudy-TUCA.pdf Cerner Corporation. (2014). About. Retrieved from http://www.multum.com/about.html 2Cerner Corporation. (2014). VantageRx™. Retrieved from http://www.multum.com/vantage.html EHR Scope LLC. (2014). Description of this EHR/EMR. Retrieved from http://www.emrconsultant.com/emr/agility_ehr/ Elsevier CDS. (2014). About us. Retrieved from http://exitcare.com/about-us/ Gugerty, B. & McCormick, K. (2013). Healthcare information technology exam guide for compTIA healthcare IT technician and HIT pro certifications. US: McGraw-Hill. Scarlat, A. (2012). Electronic health record: A systems analysis of the medications domain. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis. Sinha, P. K. (2012). Electronic health records: Standards, coding systems, frameworks, and infrastructures. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons. Skolnik, N. S. (2011). Electronic medical records: A practical guide for primary care. New York: Humana. Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2013). Health care information systems: A practical approach for health care management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (Accessed on: 27 May 2014) Read More