Our EHR Journey: The Early Stages

Our EHR Journey: The Early Stages

Our EHR Journey: The Early Stages
Karen Perry, OD, FAAO

Today, both clinical care and reimbursement practices are changing at unprecedented rates. In response to this rapidly evolving environment, we decided about 18 months ago to make our Orlando, FL, primary care optometry practice more efficient through the use of electronic health records (EHRs).

Due Diligence

We were already using a Compulink system for appointment scheduling, billing and coding, and tracking patient demographics. But rather than automatically adopting the full Compulink EHR system, we performed a careful search to find the best EHR system for our practice. An important step in this process was making a clear determination of our current practice needs and the goals we wanted to achieve.

We then took stock of all of the protocols, devices, and forms used in the office. This “inventory of procedures” gave us a yardstick that provided a measure of how the candidate EHR systems might perform with each of our practice functions. We included the entire staff in determining the goals for the EHR system. Equipment integration was an important aspect of increasing our efficiencies. We consulted with vendors to identify what we would need to accomplish these goals, and identified criteria that would allow us to measure and compare various systems.

Knowing that EHR systems would continue to evolve after we made our purchase, we wanted a system that would grow and change in step with our practice. We also looked for a system that could transition with the changing government requirements for EHRs.

Finally, I talked to my friends and colleagues in the area—asking about which systems they used, whether or not they liked them, and why. I knew it would be convenient and motivating for vendors to have multiple clinics in the same area using their system. Finally, taking our research, our criteria, and our discussions with colleagues into account, we selected the system that we believed would be optimum for our practice (we purchased the Compulink EHR).

Step by Step

Once we had selected and installed the system, we began to convert our practice to electronic records one department at a time. This staged approach to implementation allowed us to transition without becoming overwhelmed. First, we converted our clinical department to electronic records by scanning the medical files of previous patients we scheduled. The optical department was easy, as all prescription information transferred over automatically. We then interfaced the automated equipment as the last stage of integration.

Along the way, we found a few strategies that were particularly helpful. Appointing certain staff members to oversee the conversion and act as point person helped to keep the entire process orderly and on track. This process ensured that most problems were handled quickly and resolved in a timely manner. To this end we also created an EHR log book in which staff members could enter questions and suggestions or ask for help with problems. At weekly meetings, we went over all of the entries and made sure that each one was addressed appropriately.

We also made good use of our support contract with the company—calling for help as frequently as needed.  Finally, we remain current with continuous software updates. We have found over time that when we require a new capability, the company has generally anticipated that need and a software update was available to make it possible. Staying current has been a matter of simply downloading the latest module. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

The transition to electronic health records is a significant change for the practice, but we saw it as an investment in making our practice more efficient, more patient-friendly, and better able to adapt to the evolving healthcare environment. Before purchasing a system, we performed a thorough evaluation to find the optimum system for our practice. Once the new system was installed, we converted to electronic records on a department-by-department basis. Converting to EHR has been more than a matter of buying a device—it is an ongoing process of practice improvement, a process that will continue to transition our practice long after the last paper chart has been shredded. 

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Karen Perry, OD, FAAO, is a co-owner in practice with her husband, Mark Perry, OD, of Perry Eye Care Associates in Orlando, FL.