The World Health Organization estimates that 134 million adverse events occur each year due to unsafe care in hospitals in low- and middle-income countries, resulting in some 2.6 million deaths, with most adverse events being preventable. 

EHRs have gotten a lot of flak from physicians for disrupting patient care in recent years, from poor navigation on information overload to meaningless data entry creating documentation geared for billing rather than clinical care. However, it’s important to remember that not all systems are created equal — at least in terms of usability.

Managing big data is critical to the health of any organization and its patients, but these initiatives can be a drain on time and resources. One way to increase efficiency, measure progress, and improve performance is through the use of analytics.

By aggregating and analyzing clinical, financial and operational data, analytical reports and dashboards inform decision making and help improve outcomes. At its best, analytics make data more meaningful and provide vital insights about organizational performance. 

Life seems so easy for industries outside of healthcare when it comes to incorporating tablets into their business. Generally, all they have to do is pick a tablet, and pick a rugged tablet case. Boom, done!

If you’re a hospital trying to modernize and introduce tablets, it’s a different situation, as you have so many things to take into account.

College students can be valuable assets during an EHR implementation, easing the burden on physicians as they transition to a new system. Mount Nittany Health’s Physician Group experience with recruits from Penn State University — located in our own backyard — was overwhelmingly positive; these students quickly developed into resident EHR experts, coaching primary care physicians and specialists on navigating and using the software. The physicians benefited from tech-savvy students serving as at-the-elbow support, and the students garnered first-hand, real-world experience in a clinical setting. 

Every year, the CHIME CIO Forum is a great opportunity to delve into the hot topics surrounding healthcare IT. From face-to-face networking with colleagues and peers to valuable education sessions geared toward meeting the needs of healthcare IT professionals, it’s always a pleasure to connect with industry thought leaders. 

Reading about a hospital’s success is one thing, but hearing stories face-to-face with clinicians is something entirely different. I recently visited Halifax Health to hear how MEDITECH Expanse is helping real doctors care for real patients at this busy trauma center and health system. 

Even with most organizations embracing the team approach to healthcare nowadays, the whole system is still very physician-led and directed. To use a football analogy, a play isn’t going to work without the quarterback’s buy-in.

As physicians, we often don’t see the harm that opioid pain medications can cause to the individual, whether through side effects, dependence, or diversion. Also, we may not always consider the implications on the national scale; prescription drug overdose deaths have increased exponentially from 2013 to 2016. The magnitude of this crisis has led to pain management guidelines from numerous entities, such as the Joint Commission and the CDC. These recommendations provide a solid foundation for opioid stewardship and are now considered to be best practice.  

The following article appeared in the May 23, 2019 issue of the HIMSS Clinical Informatics Insights newsletter. A portion of it has been posted here with permission.

Last year, a colleague of mine wrote an apology to clinicians on behalf of all EHR vendors for the pain we’ve put them through. It resonated with many readers, who have soured on the overly hopeful messages of clinical and business transformation coming from the industry. It’s important for all of us to honestly acknowledge where we are, how we got here, and what we need to do to restore the confidence of EHR users — particularly clinicians, whose lives have been irrevocably changed, for better and for worse, by the computerization of healthcare.