Challenges in changing from paper-based data to an electronic medium
The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) is increasingly being felt due to its efficiency and advancement in technology. Despite that, the implementation process is not always an easy endeavor. Willingness and ability of healthcare personnel to adopt to EHR is one of the main challenges ( McCarthy & Eastman,2013). The two entails the will and the skills of healthcare personnel and patients to support the system. It requires support in terms of intellectual and emotional level that is majorly influenced by leadership, communication, and organizational history with change perception. In some instances, the leadership fails to support the change, thus; cascading the entire process. Failure in communicating clearly both verbally and in written form has also proved to affect the willingness and the ability of people in healthcare to adapt to the EHR. Secondly, the organizational readiness to the system is also an issue that may hamper changes to an electronic health record. EHR falls under the people's side of the project. Thus, it requires coordination, activities sequencing, collaboration, and information from the people in health care. Therefore, failure of the various parts of the health care to provide an implementation plan may affect its implementation. Thirdly, adoption of EHR technology by both the health care system and its personnel is a shortcoming in its implementation ( The National Learning Consortium (NLC), n.d.) . The organization is required to develop synergy among individuals. Technology requires skills and knowledge in its usage. Therefore, its implementation might not be easy since EHR entails a change in information technology that requires changes in management principles. Lastly, EHR implementation affects the entire organization. Consequently, it makes users find themselves in an entirely different world. Such problems lead to disruption of the healthcare status quo and cause effects that can be disastrous in terms of finances and time.
References
McCarthy, C., & Eastman, D. (2013). Change management strategies for an effective EMR implementation. Himss.
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The National Learning Consortium (NLC). (n.d.). Change Management in EHR Implementation . ONC | Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/tools/nlc_changemanagementprimer.pdf
