Conduct a needs assessment of what the organization is asking for. The functional needs assessment process begins with recognizes the internal and external information needs as they relate to primary and secondary uses of the electronic health record.
Background Information
Newville Clinic is a community health clinic organization located in your state that
serves about 15,000 patients per year. It is a group practice of 10 physicians, 4
physician assistants, 4 nurse practitioners, 2 department managers, 2 part-time
laboratory technicians, a phlebotomist, and several other ancillary team members. Due
to the good that Newville Clinic offers to the community and its patients, it is growing
in size. The clinic currently does not use an electronic health record (EHR). They
strictly use paper but know that they need to implement an EHR to meet regulatory and
compliance requirements. Using paper for so many years has left Newville behind in its
technology environment. This has been particularly problematic given the pandemic
and severe weather-related events that have occurred in recent years.
The CEO of Newville Clinic, Dr. Lalanda Tooney, has received several complaints
from staff about workflow issues and not using an EHR. There have been concerns
about the efficiency, responsiveness, and accuracy of data. Newville’s strategic plan is
a goal to evaluate, select, and implement an EHR to improve safety and quality and
alleviate future issues. She also hopes that this implementation will open the door for
future innovations. Although the implementation of an EHR means many changes for
the clinic (workflow, cost, technology environment, organization-wide training,
electronic data storage, interoperability, etc.), the entire staff supports the endeavor and
is involved in the process as much as their busy practice schedule allows.
A steering committee has been convened and has begun conducting
interviews, surveys, and several full-team meetings with the clinical care team
(end-users) to discuss their needs. Patient needs and satisfaction, as well as optimal
workflow, are the major driving forces for this project. Newville Clinic would also like
to expand to include a community health research department and use their patient data
for clinical and population health research. Training and vendor support are important
items for success. Therefore, this is a large ticket item and is being planned into the
schedule and budget.
Your Charge
Imagine that you are a healthcare administrator at Newville Clinic. Newville has
several clinics that serve different populations. For this project, your senior leadership
team has asked you to lead an electronic health record implementation project. You get
to choose the type of clinic that you will focus on. This allows you to tailor your project
to a type of organization or population with which you are either currently working or
hope to work. This will also give you an immersive experience into one of the major
roles of a healthcare leader. Depending on the chosen population type, your EHR needs
will be different.
For this project, to develop an electronic health record implementation, I have chosen rural and
limited access (technology access issues).
Patients in rural populations must travel long distances just to access healthcare services. Rural
hospitals have struggled to mimic larger hospitals in more populated areas with the adaptation of
electronic health records. These challenges lack financial and technological resources. The cost,
time, and technical expertise necessary to fully implement EHR technology has put a strain on
health care within this population. The discrepancy in technology access inhibits rural
communities in unforeseen ways.
Background Information
Newville Clinic is a community health clinic organization located in your state that
serves about 15,000 patients per year. It is a group practice of 10 physicians, 4
physician assistants, 4 nurse practitioners, 2 department managers, 2 part-time
laboratory technicians, a phlebotomist, and several other ancillary team members. Due
to the good that Newville Clinic offers to the community and its patients, it is growing
in size. The clinic currently does not use an electronic health record (EHR). They
strictly use paper but know that they need to implement an EHR to meet regulatory and
compliance requirements. Using paper for so many years has left Newville behind in its
technology environment. This has been particularly problematic given the pandemic
and severe weather-related events that have occurred in recent years.
The CEO of Newville Clinic, Dr. Lalanda Tooney, has received several complaints
from staff about workflow issues and not using an EHR. There have been concerns
about the efficiency, responsiveness, and accuracy of data. Newville’s strategic plan is
a goal to evaluate, select, and implement an EHR to improve safety and quality and
alleviate future issues. She also hopes that this implementation will open the door for
future innovations. Although the implementation of an EHR means many changes for
the clinic (workflow, cost, technology environment, organization-wide training,
electronic data storage, interoperability, etc.), the entire staff supports the endeavor and
is involved in the process as much as their busy practice schedule allows.
A steering committee has been convened and has begun conducting
interviews, surveys, and several full-team meetings with the clinical care team
(end-users) to discuss their needs. Patient needs and satisfaction, as well as optimal
workflow, are the major driving forces for this project. Newville Clinic would also like
to expand to include a community health research department and use their patient data
for clinical and population health research. Training and vendor support are important
items for success. Therefore, this is a large ticket item and is being planned into the
schedule and budget.
Your Charge
Imagine that you are a healthcare administrator at Newville Clinic. Newville has
several clinics that serve different populations. For this project, your senior leadership
team has asked you to lead an electronic health record implementation project. You get
to choose the type of clinic that you will focus on. This allows you to tailor your project
to a type of organization or population with which you are either currently working or
hope to work. This will also give you an immersive experience into one of the major
roles of a healthcare leader. Depending on the chosen population type, your EHR needs
will be different.
For this project, to develop an electronic health record implementation, I have chosen rural and
limited access (technology access issues).
Patients in rural populations must travel long distances just to access healthcare services. Rural
hospitals have struggled to mimic larger hospitals in more populated areas with the adaptation of
electronic health records. These challenges lack financial and technological resources. The cost,
time, and technical expertise necessary to fully implement EHR technology has put a strain on
health care within this population. The discrepancy in technology access inhibits rural
communities in unforeseen ways.