by: Navy Capt. Michael Weiner
DHIMS Deputy Program Manager and Chief Medical Officer
Thursday, April 15, 2010 - In the last couple of weeks, I have been sharing some insight into electronic health records and some of the lessons learned as a military doctor within the Military Health System. To recap, I’ve examined the work flow and the importance of testing out a system prior to deploying; this week I want to focus on choosing a technology. The lesson is: newer isn’t always better.
Hardware matters
Any piece of software that is selected for your EHR must have hardware that can run it; whether it is a desktop, laptop, tablet or slate, the hardware has to be there. When choosing your EHR, not only should you test out the software for how it fits the work flow, but also how it works on different hardware and what type of hardware is the best fit. Anyone who is expected to use the software solution should be comfortable with ergonomics of the hardware it will be running on.
Consider these examples of how hardware needs differ: Nurses may want a computer on a cart to be able to move from office to office while physicians may want a wireless tablet to best emulate the way they have historically documented on a paper chart. Administrators may prefer a desktop with an ergonomic keyboard to best support their daily activities. The newest piece of hardware sold off the shelf may not always be the best solution.
Choosing hardware that best fits the work flow needs is much more important than always choosing the smallest, fastest or most portable option. After all, a powerful, large desktop would be difficult for a physician to carry from patient room to patient room, while a touch screen tablet wouldn’t be that convenient for an administrator at a static desk. Hardware selection remains a key component of a successful EHR deployment. Again, this is one of those lessons you learn after you have tried basing your system on the data rather than the work flow. Did I mention work flow again? Yes, I did because when you get right down to it, the main lesson here is that not only does the software have to meet your daily work flow for smooth and semi-painless adoption, but so does the hardware. That is enough about hardware fitting work flow for now. Next week my topic is acquiring EHRs that are intuitive to the users.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I'm glad to read this blog posting, as not assessing the necessary hardware needs prior to EHR selection and implementation can create major issues and headaches for all involved in the EHR adoption process. Many of the issues that lead to failed implementations go back to individuals or medical facilities that rush through the planning stages and jump right into EHR selection and implementation. There are very specific components of a readiness assessment that can help physicians better prepare them for the major technological shift. EHRtv has produced several educational videos on readiness assessment. There's even a specific video on assessing technology in preparation for an EHR: http://www.ehrtv.com/category/educational/
ReplyDelete