Order 1346747: advocating for lasting change

Introduction

For the longest time, my community has relied on a manual system for storing information. However, the system is past its prime with the digitalization of health records. The manual system requires a lot of space for storage purposes with warehouses preferred due to the bulkiness of the documents (Hsiao, Hing, & Ashman, 2014). It is also time-consuming to track records and converting them into soft-copies. Additionally, there are legibility issues as medical practitioners have a reputation for having poor handwriting.

However, the main reason why I am advocating for a change in hospital management system is due to the recent fire incidence that saw part of the storage facility burn down. As a result, some crucial patient records were lost. As such, there is a need to convert from a manual system to an electronic health record system. The electronic health record system is a digitized version of a patient’s paper chart that ensures information is available and secure to the authorized persons only (Hsiao, Hing et al., 2014). This system, when initiated in the hospitals and community, will bring about significant change in healthcare delivery.

Benefits and Implications

The use of electronic health records aims towards the provision of high quality and safe care to all patients and creates perceptible enhancements in an organization. EHRs have various direct benefits in the care of patients. First and foremost, it allows healthcare providers to offer timely, accurate and complete information about patients at the point of care. With the use of this system, there will be quick access to the records of patients and secure sharing of data with patients and health professions. The cost will also be reduced through the reduction in paperwork, safety improvement, and improved health (Tomines, Readhead, Readhead, & Teutsch, 2013).

Improvements in overall health will ensure that community members have access to safe care as the diagnosis will be made effective and reduction of medical errors will be promoted. This means that correct and early diagnosis will promote timely management of diseases in the community while mortality and morbidity rates decrease (Tomines et al., 2013). The community members will also benefit in that there will be an improvement in their interaction and communication with healthcare providers, as well as convenience. The members of the community will improve in their health-seeking behavior since this change promotes privacy and security of the patients’ data. Health-seeking behavior improvements will gradually promote health by reducing morbidity and mortality in the community. In this way, they are accountable for their own health and take actions to advance their health requirements.

Potential barriers to change

Adoption and change to the EHR system require financial input from both an organization and the community. Lack of financial resources will make it cumbersome to afford the system and more staff will be needed to process the change required for the effective use of EHRs. Secondly, focus on this information system will add to complexity struggles in the organization, more so, the community health centers (Nguyen, Bellucci, & Nguyen, 2014).

Such complexity increases cost in the organizations due to the required staff training and complimentary process changes. Technological equipment are also needed to satisfy the change, which also requires training of staff on how to operate them and costs of purchasing them for use in the organization. Leaders in the community are responsible for financing and supporting the change to bring about advancement in healthcare.

It is imperative to effectively communicate with the community political leaders and health center leaders, who are the core drivers of change in the community. I would present the various advantages of technological change to this group of people and explain its impact on the health of the community members. In this way, they will be able to perceive the importance of the system and agree on its adoption in the community health centers.

However, when there is the conflict between competing interests, I would resolve it by providing concrete evidence of information on cases where the change was adopted and successfully benefited the organizations and the whole community (Nguyen et al., 2014). Evidence of success will motivate the leaders and other change drivers to allow the adoption of the system. Aside from that, I would disclose the change to the members of the community and provide concrete information about the course. Democratic decision making will be completed through a voting process where the majority decision will be made effective. The action will ensure that there are no misunderstandings in the future as the decision was made legitimately.

Stakeholders

For the proposed change to be understood, it is imperative to involve potential stakeholders. There are three main stakeholders. They include the hospital management, donors, the government, and the community. The hospital management is in charge of the day to day running of the institution and makes decisions based on the availability of sponsors. The institution is a community mission hospital that relies on the government and donors for funding. It is a non-profit one and hence cannot make an isolated decision. However, convincing the hospital management to adopt the change would be the first approval step. As aforementioned, the recent fire that burnt the hospital records necessitates the need for change. As such, It will be relatively easy to convince the hospital management to take up the change as a way of averting such an incidence in the future. While the management will be concerned about the cost of the transformation, the system is fairly priced and the maintenance costs are manageable.

The government plays an integral role in regulating changes in the healthcare sector. Additionally, it provides the hospital with both manpower and supplies. Therefore, it will be prudent to involve the government from the start so that they can endorse the project. Government involvement will create awareness on the importance of adopting technology in the healthcare sector. Additionally, the government partially funds the institution. As such, it is necessary to involve it for accountability purposes.

There are different donors who make financial contributions to the hospital as part of keeping it open. Therefore, it is important to hold a meeting with the donors to assure them of the proper use of their funds and how the new system will improve efficiency in the hospital. The final group of stakeholders in the community. They are also the main beneficiary of the system. While a majority of the community members are not techno-savvy, it is imperative to convince them that the new system will service delivery faster and seemliness, improving the customer experience at the facility.

Conclusion

In summation, the new system will be geared towards improving the mode of operation at the facility. A proper engagement of all stakeholders; the management, government, donors, and the community will see a successful implementation of the same. The Electronic Healthcare Records system will ensure that records are safe from hazards, and retrievable in the event of natural calamities such as fire and floods.

References

Hsiao, C. J., Hing, E., & Ashman, J. (2014). Trends in Electronic Health Record System Use Among Office-based Physicians, United States, 2007-2012. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

Jamoom, E., Beatty, P., Bercovitz, A., Woodwell, D., Palso, K., & Rechtsteiner, E. (2013). Physician adoption of electronic health record systems: United States, 2011. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.

Nguyen, L., Bellucci, E., & Nguyen, L. T. (2014). Electronic health records implementation: an evaluation of information system impact and contingency factors. International journal of medical informatics, 83(11), 779-796.

Tomines, A., Readhead, H., Readhead, A., & Teutsch, S. (2013). Applications of electronic health information in public health: uses, opportunities & barriers. EGEMS (Washington, DC), 1(2), 1019. doi:10.13063/2327-9214.1019