EHRs are not set it and forget it systems. They are living, breathing tools that can be optimized and made to work BETTER in your environment and for your facility’s clinicians. Assessments help address hidden issues that hinder satisfying experiences and progress on improvement initiatives. Our team has performed dozens of MEDITECH assessments, each identifying quick wins and strategic opportunities that could be a result of:
Like we’ve seen with the majority of organizations performing MEDITECH assessments with CereCore, a thorough assessment reveals significant opportunities, including an average of over $1M in unbilled revenue. These findings are not uncommon and frequently point to broader issues: setup and workflow design are necessary to support a successful go-live and are often underestimated, analytics that fall short of clinical decision making, and missed system configurations that can improve patient and provider experiences. Addressing these issues requires a prioritized, coordinated approach grounded in a thorough understanding of your environment and clinical settings. Further, findings should be organized by operational impact which is key for MEDITECH organizations to maximize their investment.
Assessment findings will vary based on healthcare setting, specialty services delivered, provider preferences, state-specific regulations, and the goals of the organization. For example, the results for a behavioral health organization must be tailored to that care setting, versus an acute hospital with oncology clinics. Even given the variables, findings can be prioritized into three levels of operational impact or risk: imminent risk/high priority, emerging risk, and cumulative risk.
Imminent risk needs attention ASAP
These are the non-negotiable items withthe potential to impact patient safety, revenue integrity, or regulatory compliance. Not only is the risk too great to ignore, but addressing these issues first can repair leakage that will fund future EHR optimization.
Address emerging risk to contain the consequences
These risks are manageable but are best addressed before they escalate into an imminent category. These are issues such as hardware refresh, streamlining workflows, reconciliation of charges, and so on.
Cumulative risks can compound over time
These are situations you can live with in the short term, and taken individually, they are often less concerning. When combined, they can become more disruptive and generate provider dissatisfaction. These are issues such as nursing handoff functionality or medication administration challenges. Root cause analysis often reveal multiple cumulative risks can be addressed with similar actions, which builds the case to address them as a group to avoid additional accumulation or dissatisfaction, in addition to the economies of scale by addressing the root cause.
Uncovering the intricate layers of your hospital operations, from clinical to front office, revenue cycle, and infrastructure requires more than knowing the software. It requires a blend of technical insight, clinical experience, and operational awareness to be effective. Clients often engage in MEDITECH assessments during these scenarios: Considering the implementation of MEDITECH Expanse, Expanse Ambulatory, or MaaS.
