need it in 10-15 min
dsmwnewng
the_maxum_care_health_group.docxThe Maxum Care Health Group (MCHG) is a group of healthcare providers, with 10 general practitioners (GPs) who also function as family physicians for many in their town of about 50,000 people. As GPs, the group functions as primary care physicians, which means they are the first point of contact for many in the community. MCHG accepts all patients that carry health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid.
MCHG has been in operation for over 25 years. Drs. Thomas and Sims founded the group, but since then have hired the balance of the medical staff. Aside from Drs. Thomas and Sims, the medical staff is relatively young, and well oriented to modern medicine and its management and organization.
The office staff at MCHG is comprised of several job positions. These include a receptionist, several secretaries, several medical coders/billers, several transcriptionists, nine medical assistants, two laboratory technicians, and an office manager.
Because the MCHG was established before the Internet revolution, use of computers is limited. The front desk uses four terminals to schedule patients and to complete billing tasks. The terminals are connected to two central personal computers that run an old version of the Linux operating system. They are also connected to several dot-matrix printers used to print billing forms and other pertinent financial information.
All patient information including the medical record is maintained by paper files. When a doctor examines a patient, all of the pertinent chart information is recorded either by the doctor writing directly in the paper chart, or by voice dictation, which is then later transcribed into the chart.
Drs. Thomas and Sims developed MCHG to be as vertically integrated as possible, so they own and manage some of their medical equipment. Therefore, they have a small laboratory where routine blood and urinalysis can be completed on-site. As laboratory equipment becomes obsolete quickly, all the lab equipment is less than one year old. They also have a small x-ray suite for chest x-rays, broken bones, and so on. Unfortunately, x-ray equipment is very large, expensive, and hasn’t really changed much for the simpler examination as those conducted by MCHG. Thus, all of the x-ray equipment is original. For cardiac concerns, they have their own EKG equipment, but only half of the machines are current, the other half are original to the group.
Drs. Thomas and Sims recently learned of something new from the government called the HITECH Act. They are concerned that new government regulations will constrain their business without significant improvement in their ability to deliver quality health care.
Assume you are the new office manager for MCHG. When hired, you were tasked with the following goals: to bring the group into the present, increase efficiency, improve healthcare delivery, and to increase net revenues. In order to accomplish these goals, you are determined to introduce an EHR. When you present the idea to the group physicians, they have the following comments:
1. We don’t need an EHR. Our system works fine. Why should we spend money on something we don’t need? 2. EHRs only increase the likelihood we will run afoul of the HITECH Act. Paper systems are inherently more secure than electronic systems. 3. We already have an electronic system. What will an EHR do that our current system will not? 4. Instead of meeting HHS requirements, maybe we should stop taking Medicare patients.
Using the case above,
A) How would you respond to each physician comment above? Be sure to provide a solid rationale and address each comment separately. (10 points)
B) Assume the physicians agree with your recommendations. Identify and describe the regulators and regulations in order to meet the stated goals. Be sure to identify each of the major federal regulators and regulations in the United States and how they would impact the EHR implementation. (10 points)
