Electronic health records (EHRs) are at the center stage of the effort to improve health care quality and control costs. In addition to allowing medical practitioners to access and record clinical documentation at much faster rates, EHRs are also positively influencing care delivery and nurse-patient interaction. Yet despite the potential benefits of EHRs, their implementation can be a formidable task that has broad-reaching implications for an entire health care organization.

In this Discussion, you appraise strategies for obtaining the benefits and overcoming the challenges of implementing and using electronic health records.

To Prepare:

·        Review the Learning Resources focusing on the implementation of EHRs in an organization. Reflect on the various approaches used.

·        If applicable, consider your own experiences with implementing EHRs. What were some positive aspects of the implementation? What suggestions would you make to improve the process?

·        Reflect on the reactions of others during the implementation process. Were concerns handled effectively?

·        If you have not had any experiences with an EHR implementation, talk to someone who has and get his or her feedback on the experience.

·        Search the Walden Library for examples of effective and poor implementation of EHRs.

Post  an overview of at least three challenges in the implementation of electronic health records and provide an example of each challenge. Develop strategies for addressing each challenge based on what has been demonstrated to be successful. Cite your resources.

 Resources

·        McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2012). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge(Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

o   Chapter 17, “The Electronic Health Record and Clinical Informatics”

·        Bates, D. W. (2010). Getting in step: Electronic health records and their role in care coordination.Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(3), 174–176. 

·        Cresswell, K., & Sheikh, A. (2009). The NHS Care Record Service: Recommendations from the literature on successful implementation and adoption. Informatics in Primary Care, 17(3), 153–160. 

·        Fickenscher, K., & Bakerman, M. (2011). Change management in health care IT. Physician Executive, 37(2), 64–67. 

·        Gruber, N., Darragh, J., Puccia, P. H., Kadric, D. S., & Bruce, S. (2010). Embracing change to improve performance. Long-Term Living: For the Continuing Care Professional, 59(1), 28–31. 

·        Hyrkäs, K., & Harvey, K. (2010). Leading innovation and change. Journal of Nursing Management,18(1), 1–3. . 

·        Mooney, B. L., & Boyle, A. M. (2011). 10 steps to successful EHR implementation. Medical Economics, 88(9), S4–6, S8–S11. 
Murphy, J. (2011). Leading from the future: Leadership makes a difference during electronic health record implementation. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 28(1), 25–30.