Making the Switch to Home Healthcare EMR in Oklahoma

Making the Switch to Home Healthcare EMR in Oklahoma

The healthcare industry creates an enormous amount of data – patient medical and care records, billing records, equipment monitoring, compliance reporting, and more.

Overall, home healthcare has lagged behind other types of healthcare in adopting EMR (Electronic Medical Records).

What is EMR, what are the benefits, and what is the status of home healthcare EMR in Oklahoma?

What Is an EMR and Why Have It?

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR) are similar. Provider, vendors, and patients use them interchangeably; however, they differ slightly.

An EMR is the digital version of paper records and contains all of a patient’s history from a particular provider. It is used most often for diagnosis and treatment. EHRs are digital records as well, but they are a more comprehensive history. The EHR is what is shared between providers, moves with the patient when the patient relocates or changes providers, and can be accessed by more than one healthcare provider.

So, essentially an EHR is an EMR that also has data from more than one organization or provider and that has interoperability.

An EMR allows healthcare staff to be more efficient. Data on a patient can be made available quickly, data can be tracked over time, and depending on the EMR system, up-to-date data can be accessed from anywhere by those who are authorized to view it.

This is important because a recent study reveals that of the healthcare employees surveyed, 90% use mobile devices in patient care. Because data can be tracked and is readily available, an EMR system can be a useful tool in early detection and intervention. EMR systems can also be used to assess and plan treatments.

Implementation of ICD-10

Another factor driving the execution of EMR systems is the recent implementation of a new coding system, ICD-10. There are over 14,000 different codes to look up and enter. A home healthcare EMR system can simplify the process, reducing errors and the number of rejected claims.

Data backup is also a concern, especially to Oklahoma home healthcare providers. Since EMRs are digital files, they can be easily be copied and stored remotely for redundancy and safety. When the Moore Medical Center was hit by the May 2013 tornado, along with the building itself, medical records were destroyed. However, patient care was not disrupted because patient records had been stored in a remote data warehouse.

Status of EMR in Oklahoma Home Healthcare

Oklahoma has been a leader in creating a technology infrastructure throughout the state and is one of four states funded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to aid home healthcare in transitioning to EMR systems.

The quickest, easiest, and most cost-effective way to implement an EMR is to enlist the aid of third-party vendors, such as Emsco Solutions. A vendor can assist with installing a certified EMR system, or even manage the system for you.

If you have not implemented EMR yet, doing so would save money and improve staff efficiency. Most importantly, with an EMR, the quality of patient care is greatly improved.

 

What are some difficulties (and solutions) you’ve encountered in adopting a home healthcare EMR system? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.

 

If you own or manage an Oklahoma-based home health care agency, and you are looking to become more efficient in the use of technology, download our free guide, Information Technology Guide for Oklahoma City Home Health Care Organizations.