Sunday, February 19, 2012

EMR and EHR System Implementation Best Practices - Part 2 - Primary Questions

This is the second article in a series dedicated to uncovering the best practices for an EMR implementation. The information presented has been developed by the author as part of a research project.

Healthcare managers of information technology have a duty to understand what factors ensure successful implementations that are unique to clinical systems. Implementers of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems who recognize these factors will have more success in delivering usable systems. This article series will analyze the relationship between failed EMR implementations and successful EMR implementations to determine the factors that contribute to a positive outcome.

EMR systems are implemented on a small scale (Crosson et al., 2007), such as group provider or in a large setting such as a hospital system (Melvin, 2007). As such, there is opportunity for projects to range in cost from the thousands to the millions of dollars. Comparatively, the appetite for risk is more suited for the larger implementers. However, new tools and technology make it easier for the smaller providers to leverage EMR systems Smyth, 2007; Adler, 2007). Smaller providers, however, are potentially at financial risk if they do not understand the complexities of the implementation of IT and how it relates to their organizations.

Primary Questions