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Electronic health records (EHRs), also known as electronic medical records (EMRs), have received a lot of attention since the Obama administration committed $36 billion in stimulus funds in 2009 to encourage hospitals and healthcare facilities to digitize patient data and make better use of information technology. 2009 also ushered in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), created to establish the guidelines for the $36 billion in available funds.
Since then, there has been a lot of debate and confusion within the Healthcare and Technology communities. On July 13th of this year, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their 864-page document entitled “Meaningful Use.” This “final rule” established measures that physicians using an EHR will need to meet in order to receive their HITECH Act incentives. Currently, only 17% of physicians in the world have adopted EHR in their practices.
So what does all of this mean? There’s money available for local healthcare practices to implement and correctly employ EHRs! Eligible (non-hospital-based) healthcare providers can qualify for up to $44,000 in HITECH incentives for “meaningful” use of an EHR between 2011 and 2015, and a three-provider practice could receive $132,000 in Medicare incentives through HITECH. It’s important to note that providers who do not adopt EHR technology by 2015 will be penalized.
Things to consider when rolling out an EHR:
- Budget: Organizations commonly assume that expenses such as equipment, training, support, suppliers, and needed services (i.e., Internet, server space, etc.) are included in the EHR vendor cost—but they’re not! Be sure to have a comprehensive budget that accounts for all aspects of the project so funds will be allocated appropriately.
- Technology: Technology is one of the most important factors in the successful implementation of an EHR. Regardless of an organization’s size, EHR systems integration can require server(s), data storage, and a network switch to connect your system to others. Proper setup is required to ensure reliability of service, high availability, and secure accessibility.
- Administrative Staff: Successful project deployment hinges on preparing a selective group of your staff as “champions” or “early adopters.” This group should consist of strong leaders that can mold the staff and help guide them through the change. They should be prepared for both the best and the worst case scenarios. As the backbone of your organization, they will lead the others through all of the changes to come.
- Implementation Plan: Developing timelines and roll out plans in advance will save precious time when you are ready to bring the EHR online. When determining timelines, think of the following:
- Staff readiness and availability
- Organization strength
- Milestones throughout the year (screenings, drives)
- School year schedule
- Holiday schedules
Above all, do not rush the process. Work with staff and your EHR vendor to develop timelines that will meet all your needs. Speeding through the process can cause unnecessary setbacks that will disrupt the entire project, create chaos, and push staff to lose focus.
With 2015 not so far off, the task can seem overwhelming. Starting now can ensure a successful return on your investment of resources!
One of the key components of an effective marketing plan is the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). Taking an objective look at your company with this method allows you to better understand how to position your brand in the marketplace.
Annually, I do a SWOT analysis of the current state of our technology strategies. I would argue it is as important in IT as it is in marketing. The SWOT analysis allows you to see your IT environment from multiple viewpoints and provide you a more complete picture of how IT is leveraged within your organization. With a better handle on the current state of your IT, the task of determining long-term IT project planning, staffing or outsourcing projections, and budget requirements are more easily managed. I would recommend you engage some key users of the system as they might offer different opinions about the system that you may not have considered.
The IT SWOT Analysis
In doing the SWOT for IT you should generate a list for responses for each measurement criteria.
- Strengths: Evaluate the strengths of your IT infrastructure. Some examples of an IT strengths could be:
- High network availability.
- Secure remote access for mobile workers.
- A strong, comprehensive continuity plan.
- Weaknesses: These would be any area that could cause downtime, a security breach, or otherwise compromise the quality of your applications and services. Also included are variables like:
- Staffing.
- Support.
- Applications facing obsolescence.
- Opportunities: These are areas that you can improve. Think of this as your area to develop a technology road map.
- What services would you like to provide to your users?
- How can you improve the availability of your systems?
- Can you improve redundancies?
- Threats: Analyze the forces that can impact your business negatively. Evaluate all of your hardware and software.
- Can you still get parts if you have a physical failure and your warranty has expired?
- Is your software up-to-date with the latest supported versions?
- Will your software vendor support you in a time of crisis?
- Can current software support your business goals and objectives?
- Is your data protected and secure, or is valuable company information found on hard drives, desktops and laptops instead of the server?
- Can you still get parts if you have a physical failure and your warranty has expired?
Once you have compiled a list for each topic you will begin to see a more comprehensive view of your network. In understanding the good, the bad, and the ugly of your corporate IT you can better determine which areas need an investment of time and resources.
I would also suggest that you evaluate the SWOT itself. Go through the process and then compare the outcome of the study vs. whatever method you used last year. I’m confident you will be happy with the results.
Yep, you heard her! It’s the new “4-letter format” but there’s nothing crude about it!
The newest version of Microsoft Office is slick, intuative and powerful. By now we’ve all seen the Windows 7 tv ad campaign where ordinary civilians are thrilled to learn that the almighty Microsoft has finally heard their plea for an easier interface. In the final installment of our 3-part series, Christine Mansfield of Discovery Training Services gave us a high level look at the new Word 2007 interface. Slide by slide she reveals that Microsoft has indeed read our minds and it is “miles simpler”!
New 2007 Office Interface is more user friendly:
- “Smart” tools
- Shared Charting & Tables
- More Customization
- Improved, professional designs
- Desktop access to commands
- Dynamic graphics
- Improved templates
Trainer’s Tips:
- Right click any Ribbon command to automatically add to the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Select a word or phrase and hover to view mini toolbar
- Right click the Ribbon and click to minimize.
- Maintain image proportion: Hold Shift or CTRL keys down as you resize a graphic
- Find the 2003 Step Mail Merge Wizard: Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge group
- Click Save As for PDF format
ALERT: Watch out for the automatic 6 points before and after paragraphs and its affect on pagination of documents from former Word generations.
Click to download the complete Word presentation for your review.
Check out our YouTube channel for the recorded presentation:
Gasp?
It’s no secret that I’m in love with my 17’ MacBook Pro (and my associated Apple products). So one might imagine that a gasp would have involuntarily leapt from my lips when our presenter, Christine Mansfield, declared “throw away your macs” at yesterday’s webinar …but it didn’t!
I actually have to admit that I had had the same revelation months earlier.
We have been employing Microsoft Office 2007 in the Fandotech office for about a year now and I have found that the new PowerPoint features have saved me time and energy that was otherwise spent creating custom artwork for our presentations. Before Office ’07 I struggled to format and brand our ppt presentations in a way that looked as custom as our website within the confines of Office. Hobbling between designing custom graphics on my mac and formatting slides on the PC I was easily losing hours in my pursuit of a suitable finished product.
During yesterday’s presentation I found myself riding the Microsoft 2007 wave with enthusiasm and renewed excitement for Office products as Christine unveiled even more features that I had yet to discover! (You can watch and follow along the entire presentation now available on our site!)
New 2007 Office Interface is more user friendly:
- Improved Charting & Tables
- XML file format smaller sized
- More customization
- New themes & quick styles
- New security features
- Designer graphics & effects
- Bolder templates
Trainer’s Tips:
- Right click any Ribbon command to automatically add to the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Click PowerPoint Options in Office Button window (in the bottom right hand corner) to change default settings (i.e. Options).
- Right click the Ribbon and click to minimize.
- Add Audio or Video through the Insert tab.
- Maintain image proportion: Hold Shift or CTRL keys down as you resize a graphic
- Convert a bulleted list to SmartArt: click Home tab, Paragraph group and choose Convert to SmartArt Graphic
Click to download the complete PowerPoint presentation for your review.
OR watch it on our YouTube channel…
Microsoft Office 2010 is looming on the horizon but there are still those who are a little anxious about the current 2007 interface updates. Anyone who’s been exposed to the most current Microsoft Office version has had a panic attack just trying to find the Open, New and Print buttons! (I know I did. Psst, click the round Office Button in the upper left hand corner.)
A drastically new interface is spelling success for power users and novices alike. Yesterday, Christine Mansfield of Discovery Training Services presented a high level overview of Excel 2007 which served to demystify the new look and feel and terminology of the 2007 suite.
New Office 2007 interface is more user friendly:
- “Smarter” Sort & Filter Tools
- More Data Storage
- Easier Formula Creation
- Enhanced Data Analysis Tools
- Easier Pivot Tables
- Dynamic Themes
- Improved Chart Styles
New Layout and Terms:
Trainer’s Tips:
- Change default spreadsheet font through Office Button > Excel Options > Popular tool.
- Right click the Ribbon and click to minimize.
- Right click any Ribbon command and add to the Quick Access Toolbar.
Download the Excel 2007 ppt presentation for your records or click to watch the complete recorded presentation!
NOTE: If you have Excel 2007 handy, I suggest you open your application and follow along with the presentation for the most impact.
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