The HIPAA provides guidelines on the storage and retrieval of electronically protected health information (EPHI). Arkansas Surgical being among the leading health facilities in the country intends to fully comply with this regulations together with local government laws on keeping patients records. Arkansas hospital has an 85.3% rating on certified Electronic Health Records (Jamoom & Yang, 2015). Compared to the other known facilities like Mayo (89.2%), John Hopkins (86.4) among others with a higher rating, improvements are necessary (Jamoom & Yang, 2015). Thus, improvements are essential for keeping patients information. While the need for development is paramount, the timeframe and costs also need serious considerations. The financial aspect of electronically keeping patients records is vital. Arkansas Surgical Hospital spends $ 50, 000 in storage and retrieval of patients’ electronic records. Such an amount is an indicator of the importance of patients’ records to the hospital's activities. For the hospital to increase its compliance levels, a higher budgetary allocation of over $ 50, 000 is expected. Such an increased allocation will necessitate the hospital's management to monitor the progress and benefits of the project closely.
The hospital is concerned about giving the best medical care to its patients for positive patients’ outcome. Record keeping plays a major role in the objective of providing the best medical care. Thus, proper keep not only sustain the current reputation of the organization, but it also contributes towards improvement. Thus, the need for proper record keeping resonates with the hospital's policy. The HIPAA also provides the guideline on storage of patient information. The guidelines require that the records are kept in forms that do not distort them such that they are available in the original form when retrieved (Friedman, Parrish, & Ross, 2013). Additionally, the records are required be destroyed after a specified period using methods that do not give any unwarranted persons access to them. Electronic storage of medical records has its financial implications. Equipment and software used for these purposes are expensive to acquire and maintain. Thus, a considerable amount of revenue goes towards this endeavor. To increase compliance levels, more resources need to be invested. Acquiring such a huge amount implies that areas of the hospital will undergo budget cuts which may adversely affect their functions.
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Although the facility is performing considerably well with regard to the safety of patients records, improvements are necessary to achieve regulatory requirements. Currently, hospital nurses create encryptions for their accounts and log in to enter patients data. The data is stored on a local server before it is transferred to a hard disk that is stored in a safe deposit box of a local bank. Possible improvements to the system include a bimonthly transfer of the data to the hard disk, stronger password encryptions for the nurses and additional local servers. The proposed changes require coordination between various departments of the facility. The IT department led by the IT manager is responsible for the procuring the equipment and installation. The hospital manager, on the other hand, must ensure the records are safely kept according to the timelines and provided standards. Nurses to have to ensure that no authorized persons have access to their accounts or passwords. Adaptation of a fully compliant electronic health records systems is vital in the improvement of the hospital's ratings which in turn leads to more customers. Accreditation bodies also require hospitals to keep patients records safely, use of EHR contributes towards this endeavor. Despite the project being financially demanding, the long-term benefits justify the capital layout. Failure to reach the required compliance levels may attract reimbursement cuts and customer complaints.
The time frame for improving compliance ratings to at least 95% should ideally be three months. Such a period is enough for contracting a service provider to set up the equipment necessary for the project. Setting up of servers and equipment in the hospital will account for the first month. Medical staff including nurses and doctors will then be trained in the second month on the working of the system. The third month is then used for testing and making necessary before the system is handed over to the IT department. At the cost of around $70,000, the period is adequate for the hospital to set aside funds for the project.
Changes to the system need to be gradual to provide time and resource allocation for implementation. Changes in the storage period from monthly to bimonthly should be affected first. System improvement where the IT department sources for software and equipment for a new server together with its integration into the hospital system follows. After installation, the system is then tested and stronger password encryptions provided for nurses and other staff. Adoption of the system may present various challenges to the facility. Legal issues that arise from the adoption of the system such as the threat of lawsuits in case of errors in the system (Palabindala, Pamarthy, & Jonnalagadda, 2016). Other obstacles include financial constraints and risk of medical errors due to staff getting too comfortable with the system such that they lose caution. However, these obstacles can be overcome through proper training of the hospital staff, efficient financial planning, and sourcing for credible software.
References
Friedman, D. J., Parrish, R. G., & Ross, D. A. (2013). Electronic health records and US public health: current realities and future promise. American Journal of Public Health, 103(9) , 1560-1567.
Hospitals.healthgrove.com. (2017). Arkansas Surgical Hospital No Little Rock, Arkansas . Hospitals.healthgrove.com. Retrieved on 12 March 2018, from http://hospitals.healthgrove.com/l/240/Arkansas-Surgical-Hospita.
Palabindala, V., Pamarthy, A., & Jonnalagadda, N. R. (2016). Adoption of electronic health records and barriers. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 6(5) , 32643.
