You are to complete the following in an Excel document that I have created (see attached)
Project Plan Assignment #4 will encompass you to put together an EMR project plan for XYZ physician’s group based on what you have completed in Project Plan Assignments #1 through #3 and using the attached document.
You will read the attached document called: “EMR Project – Implementation Planning Guide”. In this guide are 10 major steps (see page 2 of the document). Within each of these 10 major steps, you will have different tasks to complete for each of the 10 steps in completing the EMR project plan for XYZ physician’s group. You will have a total of 50-100 tasks once you are completed. This project plan MUST be in date order. Also, you may have some tasks that are completed on the same day which is okay.
I have provided an example of several tasks in the attached spreadsheet which you will include in your spreadsheet.
Individuals who work in the XYZ physician’s office:
Physician
Office manager (this is you)
Medical assistants
Receptionists/intake coordinators
Billers
Coder
Check out schedulers
Customer service/phone callers
Please complete the attached Excel spreadsheet based on the directions above
Running Head:
WORKFLOWS
1
5
WORKFLOWS
Project Plan Assignment 3
Introduction
Workflows play a significant role in the continuity of operations in the organization (Da Silva, Filgueira, et al ., 2017). This paper shall focus on workflow in the Physician’s office in the process of administration of medication to the patients. Workflows involves the recording of a health issue from the patient by various individuals in the Physician’s office. The medical information of the patient is added effectively from one person to the next, after which the information is filed into the filling cabinet. The workflow in the Physician’s office is coordinated by the Physician, office manager, medical assistants, receptionists intake coordinators, billers, coders, check out schedules, and customer service/ phone callers. The paper shall focus on their various roles in the administration of medication to the patients.
Receptionists / Intake coordinators
Their main responsibility is to guide the patients to the relevant department for examination and treatment. They ensure that the patients access the right department upon arrival. Once the patient with hypertension arrives at the facility, he or she is directed to the Physician by the receptionist.
Physician
The Physician shall diagnose the patient to ascertain whether he or she is suffering from hypertension or not. The Physician plays a significant role in the examination of the patients. After the examination, he or she takes the medical history of the patient to ascertain the possibility of occurrence of the similar medical condition in the past. This enhances effective administration of medication minimizing the chances of medication errors that is rampant among the health practitioners (Lin, Deng et al., 2018). For our case, the Physician shall diagnose the patient for a possible case of hypertension, after which he shall refer the patient to the next department after recording the patient’s condition.
Medical assistants
The primary role of the medical assistants is to update the medical records of the patients upon diagnosis by the Physician for future reference. After the diagnosis of the patient with hypertension, the Physician passes the record to the medical assistant on duty who records the results in the patient’s health record. The medical assistant may schedule for hospital admission for the patient if the condition requires continuous treatment within the healthcare facility.
Billers
The biller processes the medical bill of the patient to enhance payment for the service received from the health practitioners. For instance, the patient with a case of hypertension should pay for the services offered to the biller, after which a receipt is issued as evidence of the payment that has been made.
Coder
The coder in the Physician’s office stores the health records of the patient in the health records information system for increased safety of the confidential information of the patient. The health information about the patient from the Physician is recorded professionally to enhance future medication.
Check out schedulers
Their primary role is to clear the patients ready to leave the hospital after the admission period is over. They record the duration spend by the patient in the healthcare facility for future medication purposes.
Customer service
After the patient is done with the treatment, the customer care service department obtains the feedback from the patient regarding their feeling concerning the service they have been given at the facility. Their feedback is recorded to report.
Office manager
All the reports regarding various medications administered to the patients are submitted to the office manager for approval. The office manager monitors the performance of all the health practitioners.
References
Da Silva, R. F., Filgueira, R., Pietri, I., Jiang, M., Sakellariou, R., & Deelman, E. (2017). A characterization of workflow management systems for extreme-scale applications. Future Generation Computer Systems, 75, 228-238.
Lin, A. C., Deng, Y., Thaibah, H., Hingl, J., Penm, J., Ivey, M. F., & Thomas, M. (2018). The impact of using an intravenous workflow management system (IVWMS) on cost and patient safety. International journal of medical informatics, 115, 73-79.
Running Head: PROJECT PLAN ASSIGNMENT
1
PROJECT PLAN ASSIGNMENT
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Project Plan Assignment #2
Project Plan Assignment
EPIC & Allscripts EMR Systems
EPIC offers implementation services in the form of working together with the teams in the hospitals to help tailor a system to a specific facility and more importantly identify and manage any risks (Epic Website, 2020). In terms of training the offers programs which are end to end by nature run by trainers who are well-credentialed as well as certified. For technical services EPIC offers 24 hours support throughout the week with regular monitory and check to ensure the proper running of their systems (Epic Website, 2020). They have a very good reputation of being very responsive to the users whenever they are called on to ensure that systems work effectively and one of offering technical support that is of high quality. For the on-going services, the company calls themselves a user’s BFF who stays close to make sure that the user enjoys the use of the systems and can optimize its use. Finally, for continuous improvement, the staff of the company offers users advice assistance and support to help foster improvement.
For the implementation of the systems, Allscripts provides its services in the form of consultancy whereby they have a consultant that guides facilities on how to go about fitting the technologies in their facilities (Allscripts Website, 2020). They provide training to practitioners through resources and on-site training in three major ways which are helping them to better make use of their products, enhancing the skills of the experts who maintain the systems and providing general training to all practitioners to help them understand the systems (Allscripts Website, 2020). In terms of technical services, they have a technical support team which through its environmental evaluation can identify issues that can contribute to a lack of optimal performance of systems and solve them. All these are technical services related to the running of healthcare facilities and they achieve this through their various products. In terms of their on-going services they provide support for the infrastructure of the clients and offer service desk support for all their clients. They finally ensure continuous improvement by constantly upgrading their products to better and more innovative versions which are more effective and efficient for the users.
Then, based on your information on both companies, you determine which company you will use to implement the new EMR system. Also, explain why you chose that company based on the five items listed above (implementation, training, technical services, on-going services, and continuous improvement). There is no right or wrong answer on which system you choose.
Based on the aspects discussed above, I would choose EPIC as the company of choice. This is because based on these featured; it seems to be offering a more personalized experience to the users. Right from the implementation, they take the trouble to tailor their products to the systems of the facility. More impressively, however, their technical services are highly user-friendly, and they are more likely to make sure that one derives the most value from the system. This is because technology and its implementation are generally not so easy, and it is further very sensitive when used in the health care setting. Based on this one would want a company that can be trusted in offering the best technical support to avoid facing the downside of technology as a result of it being ineffective. This choice is more reliable on that basis.
As a project manager, you will also need to determine if you need PCs or laptops and how many for XYZ Physician’s group. You make the “call” as to why you should have PCs or laptops (or both); but, you must explain why you made the decision. Also, research the cost for PCs and/or laptops (Bestbuy is a good source). You will need to provide two different companies’ cost for the PCs and/or laptops. Then, come up with a grand total for the total cost for the PCs and/or laptops for each company. Lastly, you make the “call” which company you will buy the PCs and/or laptops from.
For this project, PCs will be needed not only because they will be used in an office setting thus no need for portable devices but also because their hardware specifications are in most cases more superior than those of the laptop and thus will allow for more efficiency. The PCs will be purchased from either Dell or HP because these are two of the best Microsoft companies which offer market-tested products at reasonable prices. The price for HP pc is about $1000 and the price for a similar dell one $1400. The price for Dell pcs will there be more expensive than the HP ones but Dell computers will be the preferred choice for this project because they have a more reliable processor and a stronger one and therefore it is more likely to do the job effectively.
References
Allscripts Website. (2020). From:
https://www.allscripts.com/services/
Epic Website. (2020). From:
https://www.epic.com/services
Sheet1
Step | Task | Responsible Person(s) | Date | Duration | ||||||||||||||
1: Establishing the project team | Meeting with potential “executive sponsor” | Senior Management | 1/1/17 | 1 Day | ||||||||||||||
Meeting with potential ” project manager” | 1/2/17 | |||||||||||||||||
Meeting with team player: “medical assistant” | Project Manager & Executive sponser | 1/3/17 | ||||||||||||||||
Meeting with team player: “physician” | ||||||||||||||||||
First team meeting | Executive sponsor, project manager, and team members | 1/8/17 | ||||||||||||||||
2: Project Activities and phases |
Sheet2
Sheet3
Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
1
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
4
Project Management Assignment #1
1. Provide a short description of each job title’s tasks (you may have to do research). There are a total of eight different titles shown above.
a. Physicians
They responsibly diagnose and treat conditions in patients.
b. Office manager
Conducting different roles that make sure the operations of an office are smooth, effective and efficient.
c. Medical assistants
Plays a supporting role to the physician and medical professionals in care settings.
d. Receptionists/ Intake coordinators
Handling the process of registering patients and clients as they come to seek services.
e. Billers
Doing calculations as well as the collection of payments for medical services offered to patients and done so accurately.
f. Coders
The main role is documentation of the medical details of patients in code form.
g. Check out Schedulers
They make appointments for inpatients to leave the medical facility and help them through the process,
h. Customer Service/Phone Callers
Their main role is responding to callers, answering their questions, listening to their concerns and needs and also addressing them.
2. In a paragraph of at least 10 – 20 sentences, discuss what the objective for the new EMR is.
The main and overall objective of the new EMR is to facilitate better storage of medical information (Huang, Shea, Qian, Masurkar, Deng & Liu, 2019). The EMR will help store information in a manner which is a lot easier to access and one which is a lot less cumbersome. As noted, medical records are currently stored on paper and one can only imagine how hard it can be to retrieve any record as one has to browse through many papers and access to since one can only access the information in the physical location where has been stored. By integrating the EMR, the hope is to have one central location of storing data which is easy to access as one only needs to have a computer to access it. Further access will be easier as a physician as well as the patient will be able to remotely access the information (Gosnell, Minnie, Yu, Liao & Cain, 2019). By computerizing the medical record, the medical practitioners will also not have to search for records as much since retrieving information from a computer database becomes a lot easier.
The second objective is to make medical data at the centre a lot more organized. Handling paper records can be very cumbersome since they even taking up a lot more physical space. The EMR will make the management of records easier by removing this inconvenience. Having data stored virtually will take up less space and less effort to manipulate. In this way, records can be a lot more organized for easier retrieval.
References
Gronsbell, J., Minnier, J., Yu, S., Liao, K., & Cai, T. (2019). Automated feature selection of predictors in electronic medical records data. Biometrics, 75(1), 268-277.
Huang, L., Shea, A. L., Qian, H., Masurkar, A., Deng, H., & Liu, D. (2019). Patient clustering improves efficiency of federated machine learning to predict mortality and hospital stay time using distributed electronic medical records. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 99, 103291.
AOHC EMR Implementation Toolkit | EMR Implementation Planning Guide – Version 1.0
AOHC EMR IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKIT
EMR Implementation Planning Guide
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EMR Implementation
Planning Guide
A Ten-Step Guide to Planning
for Successful Implementation of an
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) System
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Contents
Purpose of this guide …………………………………………………………………. 3
Step 1: Establishing the project team …………………………………………… 4
Step 2: Project activities and phases ……………………………………………. 5
Step 3: Planning for change ………………………………………………………… 9
Step 4: Communication planning ……………………………………………….. 10
Step 5: Data migration and data retention from legacy systems ……. 11
Step 6: Training ……………………………………………………………………….. 12
Step 7: Identifying EMR reporting requirements …………………………. 13
Step 8: Executing and validating deployment ……………………………… 14
Step 9: Executive approval to go live ………………………………………….. 15
Step 10: Post-Go Live activities and support ……………………………….. 16
For questions or comments, please contact:
AOHC EMR Project
Association of Ontario Health Centres
emr@aohc.org
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Purpose of this guide
The EMR Implementation Planning Guide is a ten-step framework to help
you understand activities necessary for successful implementation of the
new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system at your health centre. It’s
designed to provide opportunities for advance planning and resource
allocation, and timelines for deployment activities.
EMR implementation will be a collaborative effort involving teams from
your centre, the EMR vendor, and AOHC staff working on the EMR
project. Depending on the size of your centre and resource availability,
the number of project team members will vary. At a minimum, however,
all executive directors or a designated senior manager will need to
review the Guide to understand funding and resource commitments
and
assign staff to the EMR project as appropriate.
When and how to use the Guide
Intended as a step-by-step planning tool, the Guide provides valuable
information to help you make decisions regarding the timing of the EMR
Go Live date, and resource commitments necessary for successful
adoption of the new EMR. Regardless of when your centre is scheduled
for EMR implementation, this document will help you start thinking
about what’s needed for smooth implementation. As the system is
deployed across the sector, the Guide will be updated with lessons
learned to ensure information remains current.
On-site implementation
This guide is a pre-implementation planning tool. Once your EMR Go
Live date has been confirmed, a comprehensive EMR implementation
approach will be available to support project teams in system
implementation at your centre. Encompassing processes, guides, tools
and activities, the EMR implementation approach will support EMR
adoption and use, and help determine your centre’s needs at a detailed
level, including budget and resource requirements.
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Step 1: Establishing the project team
Key Points
� While the AOHC and the EMR vendor will play key roles and act in
partnership with the centre, each centre is responsible for its own
EMR implementation project.
� Centres will be required to assign a dedicated project manager, who
will be responsible for project deliverables and keeping the project
on track.
The centre’s project team
The centre’s project team is pivotal to the overall success of EMR system
implementation. Although the full project team may be assigned later in
the project lifecycle, the executive sponsor and project manager should
be assigned prior to the start of the
project.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES
EXECUTIVE PROJECT
SPONSOR
Accountable for the overall success of
the project, the
executive sponsor
assigns the project manager. Prosci, an
internationally-recognized change
management firm, has identified active
and visible executive sponsorship as the
most important factor in project success.
Together, the
executive sponsor
and project manager
identify members of
the centre’s project
team. They lead
change and manage
resistance to change.
PROJECT MANAGER Typically a senior manager experienced
in leading multi-faceted implementation
teams, the project manager makes EMR
implementation decisions on behalf of
the centre, and is responsible for day-to-
day management of EMR
implementation for the duration of the
project.
PROJECT TEAM The project team works on all aspects of EMR implementation with
a focus on the following:
� Budget/agreement
management
� Business change
� Information technology
management
� Privacy and security
� Communications
� Data migration
� Training
� Reporting
Depending on resource availability and EMR implementation
complexity, one person may fulfill multiple roles. The key
consideration is the time and effort each role requires to ensure
overall project success. It’s important to include clinical
representation on the project team.
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Step 2: Project activities and phases
Key Point
� This guide is a pre-implementation planning tool. Once your EMR
Go Live date is confirmed, a comprehensive EMR implementation
approach will be available to support system implementation at
your centre. Encompassing processes, tools and activities, the
approach will be updated regularly to leverage lessons learned from
earlier EMR system implementation at other centres.
Project Phases
1 Peer leaders are health centre staff who will champion the use of the EMR to
sector colleagues through best practices and lessons learned. Peer leaders will
likely be drawn from centres that adopted the EMR system early in the sector-
wide implementation schedule.
ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
PREPARATION
& PLANNING
DEPLOYMENT
GO LIVE
WEEKEND
POST-
IMPLEMENTATION
� Initial project
planning
discussions
with centre
� AOHC/centre
preliminary
meeting to
kick off
project
� Detailed
needs
analysis to
assess
centre’s
business
and
technical
readiness
� Project
planning
� Project
Scope of
Work,
Funding
Agreement,
budget
preparation
� Business
process
redesign
preparation
� Data
migration
preparation
� Pre-production
environments
allocated
� Data migration
trial runs to
create a clean
extract file
� Business
process
redesign
� User training,
EMR demos
� Identification/
development
of ad hoc
reports
� Peer leader
1
group support
� Data
conversion,
validation
� Final
readiness
checklist
completion
� Go/No-Go
Live meeting
� Data validation
by end users
� Addressing
issues
� End user
support
� Peer leader
group support
� Transition to
adoption/
operations
phase
1 month
approximately
1 month
approximately
3 months
approximately
3 days Ongoing
6 – 12 months
approximately
Readiness Deployment
Adoption &
Maintenance
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Engagement Meeting
Designed to kick off the project, the engagement meeting brings together
senior centre executive and project team members and the AOHC EMR
Project Team, who will work in partnership to implement the EMR
system. The centre’s executive sponsor should assign a project manager
prior to the meeting. Meeting activities include reviewing project
milestones, resource assignment, roles and responsibilities, and
establishing a high-level approach to project communications and issues
management. The funding agreement and budget templates will also be
reviewed at this session.
ACTIVITY START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Half-day session
Assessment Phase
The centre’s technical and business leads are assigned during this phase.
Working with leads, the AOHC EMR Project Team will conduct a detailed
business and technical needs analysis including network requirements
of the centre. Information gathered at this stage will be used to evaluate
gaps in business processes or technology, inform the EMR
implementation budget and support development of the Project Scope of
Work (SOW) and funding agreement between the AOHC and your centre.
PHASE START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION One month approximately
Preparation and Planning Phase
Your centre’s full project team should be assigned prior to the start of
this phase. Activities include:
� Development of the project work plan using an AOHC EMR
Project template
� Review of results from the business and technical needs analysis
� Project Scope of Work (SOW) preparation by the centre and the
AOHC, and signature by the centre, AOHC, and vendor
� Preparation of the EMR implementation budget
� Funding agreement preparation, and signature by centre and
AOHC executive directors
� Data migration and transfer activities
� Documenting current workflows
� Enabling deployment portal access
� Ordering network services, infrastructures upgrades, equipment,
etc.
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PHASE START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION One month approximately
Deployment Phase
The deployment phase involves all activities required to advance the
project from planning and preparation to the day the EMR goes live at
your centre. Activities in this phase include:
� Meetings to coordinate EMR implementation activities
� Vendor team engagement with centre/AOHC project teams
� Allocation of data migration, training, demonstration and pre-
production environments
� Data migration trials
� Identification of additional local reporting requirements
� Preparing staff for the new EMR
� Identifying and implementing local EMR configurations (i.e.,
setting up authorized users, assigning role-based access, etc.)
PHASE START Three months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Three months approximately
Go Live Weekend
Occurring from Friday to Monday, Go Live weekend is the most critical
part of EMR implementation. A time of intense activity for centre, AOHC,
and vendor project teams, activities include:
� Data migration and IS/IT teams copying the database(s) and
sending files to a centralized migration environment
� Data conversion using data migration tools
� Exporting data to the new EMR, and data validation
� Executive approval to go live.
For more information on this activity, see Step 8: Executing and
validating deployment, and Step 9: Executive approval to go live.
ACTIVITY START Three days before your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Three days
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Post-Implementation Phase
Even after your new EMR is up and running and in active use, there are
still a series of activities to undertake, including:
� Data validation by end users
� Super user2 support of end users
� AOHC and vendor team support for a specified period
� Peer leader support
� Ongoing practices to support full EMR adoption
For more information on the Post-Implementation Phase, see Step 10:
Post-Go Live support and EMR adoption.
PHASE START As soon as your new EMR is live
DURATION Ongoing
2 EMR users at your centre who receive additional training on the new system
so they may share knowledge and assist other staff. See Step 6 – Training.
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Step 3: Planning for change
The new EMR will bring significant change to your centre. To help you
plan for change, the AOHC Transition Management Team will work with
you to develop a strategy to support the transition of people, processes
and technology.
Three key activities are required to develop a change strategy and
prepare providers and staff for EMR implementation from a business
process perspective:
1. Set the strategic direction by defining goals around the use of
the new EMR to support and improve client-centered care.
2. Map current processes to identify the people, processes and
tools currently used to provide client care. Likely led by your
centre’s change manager with assistance from the AOHC
Transition Management Team, this is an opportunity to identify
what works well at your centre, and more importantly, what
doesn’t, and to identify processes or workflows that need
improvement.
3. Define to-be processes by re-thinking and re-designing
processes to ensure a client-centered practice. This activity
provides opportunities to plan organizational changes in your
daily workflow based on the improved features and functionality
of the new EMR. This exercise should be a centre–wide initiative
with representation from all areas of care and operational
support.
Change management helps organizations and individuals affected by
new processes and technology understand the need for changing current
behaviour, and provides practical approaches and tools to help
organizations and individuals implement and adopt new skills and
behaviours. To support you in these activities, the AOHC EMR Project
Team will provide guides, tools and expert assistance.
ACTIVITY START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Four months
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Step 4: Communications planning
Communications planning focuses on informing and engaging staff from
throughout your centre, and stakeholders, on changes that will result
from implementation of the new EMR. Providing early awareness and
keeping these audiences informed of project progress and the impact the
new system will have on their day-to-day lives is an important part of
overall project success.
A communications plan should at a minimum fulfill the following
objectives:
� Provide staff with awareness and understanding of upcoming
changes early on
� Inform any centre partners, such as laboratories, of EMR
implementation, to give them time to make necessary process
changes
� Keep users and stakeholders informed about project progress, as
well as EMR adoption status
� Inform and update your board of directors and LHIN about the
project and current status.
A comprehensive guide and communications planning template will be
provided by the AOHC EMR Project Team once your EMR Go Live date is
confirmed. Communications planning should start four months before
your EMR Go Live date and continue throughout the project, up to
approximately one month after your Go Live date.
ACTIVITY START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Four months
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Step 5: Data migration and data retention
from legacy systems
Data migration and retention of legacy clinical management system
(CMS) data to the new EMR is the most critical activity in successful
implementation of the new system. Without proper migration of existing
client data, the new EMR will fail to support optimal client care. Due to
data migration complexity and the variation in levels of electronic record
adoption across the sector, careful and detailed planning is necessary at
each centre to prepare for successful migration of legacy CMS data to the
new EMR.
Data migration involves five key activities:
1. Data preparation of paper and electronic charts, as per
instructions, guides and tools provided by AOHC EMR Project
Team.
2. Data mapping of local data values to data fields in the new EMR.
3. Data migration using AOHC EMR Project Team migration tools
and data mapping spreadsheets. Data migration will happen in a
dedicated, centralized environment supporting pre-
implementation practice runs and final migration and validation.
This approach will enable project teams to benefit from iterative
data migration trial runs, so data conversion errors can be
corrected, and data can be validated after each trial run.
4. Planning and execution of manual entry of relevant data from
paper charts.
5. Retention of original historical records to ensure compliance
with medical/legal requirements.
Data migration support
Along with a dedicated data migration environment, an AOHC data
migration coordinator, as well as guides and tools will be available to
assist you with data preparation, retention and migration.
ACTIVITY START Four months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Four months
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Step 6: Training
All staff who will use the new EMR will require training. Specialized
training will also be necessary for super users, system administrators,
data management coordinators and financial staff.
The AOHC EMR Project Team will provide you with tools to help you
develop a training strategy for your centre to meet your short and long-
term needs. This includes identifying training roles and responsibilities
and completing a training and course planning matrix.
The EMR vendor will provide onsite training for your staff.3 Each centre
should identify at least one super user4 who can be trained to provide
onsite expertise and who can, when required, train new staff.
A training environment for staff to practice using the new EMR will also
be available. Staff will have ongoing access to online training modules to
refresh knowledge, and supplement training for new staff or staff with
new responsibilities.
EMR training will be supplemented by a peer leader support network.
The network will enable clinical staff from other centres experienced in
using the new EMR, like physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses,
dietitians, social workers and clinical support staff, to act as mentors to
new users. The program aims to speed adoption of the new system and
assist you in achieving meaningful use of your EMR.
ACTIVITY START Three months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Three months
3 Basic computer skills are a prerequisite to EMR system use. Training to
support basic computer literacy will not be provided as part of the AOHC EMR
Project. If some of your staff lack basic computer skills, it’s important to
recognize and address this gap before they receive training on the new EMR
system.
4 For a definition of super user, see Step 2, Post-Implementation Phase.
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Step 7: Identifying EMR reporting
requirements
The new EMR will offer pre-defined reports to address core business
needs. Additional reports requested on a sector-wide basis and available
to all centres will be added based on an approved change request
process.
If required, centre-specific local reports will be developed to address the
specific reporting needs of a centre. Driven by the centre’s business
change team, each centre will need to compare their reporting
requirements to standard system reports to verify if additional local
reports will be required.
The following activities will be required to identify local reporting
requirements at your centre:
1. Identify current reporting activities across all offices.
2. Assess current reporting activities in terms of relevance and
usefulness and identify new reporting requirements.
3. Prioritize and develop new, local reports.
Identifying EMR reporting requirements should start three months prior
to your EMR Go Live date, and take approximately one month. Report
development should begin two months prior to your Go Live date and
continue after EMR implementation as an operational activity.
ACTIVITY START Three months prior to your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Three months plus ongoing operational activity
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Step 8: Executing and validating deployment
Key Point
� Once the new system is deployed and new data is being entered
into it, there will be no way to synchronize data between the EMR
system and legacy CMS databases. This means once staff start
using the new system on Go Live Monday, it will not be possible to
revert to the legacy clinical management system without losing all
new data.
� Legacy system data will continue to be available for reference.
Leading up to EMR deployment (Go Live) on Monday morning, executing
and validating deployment takes place from Friday to Sunday. The most
critical part of EMR implementation, it will also be a time of intense
activity for the centre, AOHC, and vendor project teams.
During this three-day period, the data migration and IS/IT teams will
make copies of the database(s) and send the files to the centralized
migration environment. Data migration tools will convert the data and
import it to the new EMR, where the data must be carefully validated.
This is the final opportunity to catch errors, and is crucial to avoiding
unpleasant surprises when the system goes live on Monday morning.
Once the new EMR is up and running (but has not officially gone live),
other centre staff are required to participate in the data validation
process. This important step involves running and reviewing reports
from the legacy CMS and the new EMR to compare and validate data.
This can be a time-consuming activity requiring manual reviews of
reports and client information. A data validation process document will
be available in advance to help your centre plan for this activity.
ACTIVITY START Three days before your EMR Go Live date
DURATION Three days
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Step 9: Executive approval to Go Live
Executive director (and the executive project sponsor, if different from
the executive director) approval is required for the new EMR system to
go live at your centre. Go Live status conference calls will be held
throughout Go Live weekend with a final call scheduled for Sunday
evening. At this meeting, the centre’s project manager will seek
consensus from all parties (the centre, AOHC and EMR vendor) and
prepare a recommendation for the executive director (and the executive
project sponsor, if different from the executive director) on whether the
system is ready to go live the following morning.
Once the executive director or executive project sponsor authorizes the
new EMR to go live, the legacy clinical management system will be
deactivated. Communications will be sent to all users and stakeholders
ensuring they are aware that the new EMR has been deployed and is the
system of record for clinical information.
ACTIVITY START Go Live weekend
DURATION Three days
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Step 10: Post-Go Live activities and support
Even after your new EMR is up and running and in active use, there are
still a series of activities to undertake.
These typically include data validation by end users, such as clinicians
conducting spot checks of client records to ensure they are correct. The
centre’s super users should be available to support users as they grow
accustomed to the new system.
Support staff from both the AOHC and vendor project teams will be
available for a specified period to address post Go-Live issues and
augment standard supports that will be in place for the EMR. An EMR
resource schedule listing super users and AOHC and vendor project team
resources will be provided.
Peer leaders from centres already using the new EMR will also be
available onsite or remotely to answer questions and provide additional
support.
Prior to your Go Live date you will be provided with information,
processes and contacts to address any issues or questions regarding the
transition and ongoing use of the new EMR system.
ACTIVITY START As soon as your new EMR is live
DURATION Ongoing