With the business-altering events of 2020, many hospital systems are being stretched in ways previously unimaginable. Despite the new challenges, capital projects that have been in the works for years, such as EHR migrations, must push forward with additional fiscal constraints.
Let’s take a look at how utilizing an expert clinical abstraction partner to manually enter needed discrete data can remedy the financial squeeze many systems are facing.
Protecting Provider Productivity
Hospital systems and their clinicians have the ultimate responsibility to the patients they serve in their community. During an EHR conversion, every member of the healthcare team — from check-in to medical assistant and provider — has their workflow affected. Their productivity is further reduced if all of the needed patient information has not been accurately and discretely migrated to the new system.
Expert manual medical abstraction, completed by a skilled vendor partner, is an important tool for health systems to leverage in the push to return to (or exceed) baseline productivity levels as quickly as possible.
Protecting Downstream Business Processes
The move to a new EHR system not only affects provider productivity, but also many downstream processes. Health systems are already dealing head-on with volume reductions due to COVID-19. When coupled with an EHR migration, it’s even more important to have a plan in place to safeguard downstream business processes and ensure patients move seamlessly through all areas of the organization.
With expert discrete data entry of historical patient information, an organization can guarantee any needed clinicals are readily available to facilitate the pre-authorization process, as well as submit required documentation to satisfy federal and private payer contracts.
Protecting Patient Satisfaction
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Informatics in Health and Biomedicine, it can take 9 to 15 months for patient satisfaction to return to pre-EHR migration levels. In a time when medicine is developing a retail-like quality, maintaining patient satisfaction is a primary focus that can’t afford a 9-15 month dip.
Being “known” by one’s physician matters, and with expert manual clinical abstraction, the bits of non-coded details that are at the core of the doctor/patient relationship are accurately and discretely entered into the new EHR system. Without this complete historical view of the patient — or with missing or incorrect information in the new chart — patient satisfaction suffers and retention is not guaranteed.
Protect Your Organization with Help from a Clinical Abstraction Partner
As we settle into our COVID-19 in-between period until a vaccine is available, health systems must find a way to push through EHR migrations that move their organizations forward while dealing with increased financial pressures.
Schedule a meeting today to discuss how our expert manual EHR migration services can project your organization’s provider productivity, downstream business practices, and patient satisfaction.
