EMR, HIPAA, Interoperability & Usability, the 4 corners

Howard Turner

Electronic Medical Records

• Proper testing must be completed to ensure excellent system performance– Continuous monitoring of performance should be

done• Excellent training must be done to prepare all

users for the new workflows• Information must be accurate• Screen layout and workflows must be intuitive

HIPPA

• The EMR system needs to be secure– To support acceptance by patients– To limit exposure for organizations

• Appropriate steps need to be taken where data is stored and when it is transmitted across the network

• Systems should make it easy to gather statistics about the quality of medical care

Interoperability• Software from EMR vendors must interoperate with

each other• Software from EMR vendors must interoperate with

ambulatory care practices software such as,– Eaglesoft – used at dental offices– Nextgen – used at physical therapists offices

• Open APIs or APIs at a reasonable price should be implemented

• Everyone should play nicely in the sandbox

Usability

• Health providers should be able to get to the proper screens easily

• Patients should be able to access their records easily

• System response time should be fast• Users should be left with a good feeling after

using an EMR system