EHR Vendor Evaluation Process

EHR Vendor Evaluation Process

Informatics

Technological advancements in the modern world have significantly transformed healthcare delivery and care outcomes for different populations. Health organizations use technologies to enhance safety, quality, and efficiency in the care delivery processes. The selection of a technology for use requires the use of robust approaches to ensure relevance and profitability in an organization. Therefore, this paper examines the need for a new system in an acute care setting, system requirements, Request for information (RFI) process, and adoption process.

Organizational Description and the Need for a New System

The organization is a tertiary institution that provides acute care services to its diverse populations. The organization has highly qualified professionals who provide high-quality patient-centered care to improve outcomes. However, it has been experiencing challenges that include a high rate of medication errors, hospital-acquired infections, and poor reporting of incidents. These challenges have increased the costs incurred in the delivery of healthcare services and those incurred by the patients. The existing electronic health record system has been unable to address most of the pressing issues in the organization(Land et al., 2019). As a result, a new system should be adopted to improve safety, quality, and efficiency in the organization.

RFI Process and Significance of a Vendor Evaluation and Rating Scale

Request for information (RFI) is a process that entails seeking information from suppliers of a service or a good an organization needs. The process enables an organization to evaluate all the potential supplies for fit and appropriateness of their services to the identified needs. RFI is crucial in cases where an organization does not have adequate knowledge about the possible vendors for the needed services. As a result, it saves the time and costs that they spend in evaluating all the vendors in the marketplace. RFI also helps organizations estimate the potential costs that would be incurred in purchasing a new system(Peisert, 2022). This is possible because the organization requests specific answers that relate to the potential costs of the system and support services that the vendor offers following system acquisition.

Vendor evaluation and rating scale are important when selecting a supply of the new system. The evaluation and rating scales provide potential customers with information such as vendor responsiveness, credibility, price, quality of time and goods or services, and delivery time among others. The evaluation and rating scales help potential customers to make informed decisions to purchase from the vendors or not. It also helps the vendors to identify their weaknesses and adopt corrective measures that streamline their processes and systems(Santos et al., 2018). The data helps customers make data-driven decisions instead of relying on word-of-mouth, hence, accurate and relevant purchasing decisions.

Description

The new system should meet the different requirements to address the organization’s needs. First, the system architecture should support functions such as data communication between users and applications, facilitate quick response and transaction completion, facilitate business continuity, and adequate storage capacity. The system should also facilitate scalability, efficient data recovery from a disaster, and interoperable. The layout should facilitate multiple levels of use such as by healthcare providers, patients, and management. The system should also have data and application servers to ensure efficiency in task execution. The client-server should be easy to use and appropriate to the client’s needs. The system should be safe and secure to ensure data integrity. It should collect, analyze, interpret, and present data that relates to quality and safety in the organization to promote system and process improvement(Li et al., 2020). Lastly, the system should be certified to ensure a high level of confidence in its use.

How EHR Supports Care Coordination, Interoperability, and Electronic Quality Measures

EHR supports care coordination. The technology collects, stores, analyzes, interprets, and presents patient data. Healthcare providers can access the information with a click for use in collaborating in the care process. Different healthcare providers can use the data to make informed decisions about the patient care needs, hence, enhancing care coordination. EHR supports interoperability. The systems can be used to exchange data with other systems in an organization. EHR can also exchange and use data across organizations or regions to optimize patient care and organizational performance(de Mello et al., 2022). EHR can also facilitate electronic quality measures. Organizations can use the technology to collect, analyze, track, and interpret different quality measures such as medication errors, falls, hospital-acquired infections, and mortality rates(Mathews et al., 2019). The measures inform quality improvement initiatives in health organizations.

Vendor Implementation Support and Stakeholder Education Process

The vendor for the required system should provide the necessary implementation support and stakeholder education. The implementation support should promote competency in system use. The implementation support should also ensure efficient interoperability of the new system with the existing systems. There should be adequate mentorship for the staff for sustained outcomes with the use of the new system(Solem et al., 2020). Stakeholders should also receive education and training to ensure efficient system use. The education and training should be regular to sustain best practices in system use.

Recommendation

I would recommend the adoption of a new system in the acute care setting to improve care safety, quality, and efficiency. The new system should address issues such as medication errors and increase incident reporting. The vendor should meet the specifications set by the organization. It should supply a system that is safe, efficient, and can be integrated into the existing organizational systems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the acute care setting requires a new system that would address its challenges. RFI and vendor rating and evaluation help potential customers make informed decisions before purchasing from a vendor. EHR supports care coordination, interoperability, and electronic quality measures. The vendor for the required system should provide implementation support and stakeholder education.

References

de Mello, B. H., Rigo, S. J., da Costa, C. A., da Rosa Righi, R., Donida, B., Bez, M. R., & Schunke, L. C. (2022). Semantic interoperability in health records standards: A systematic literature review. Health and Technology, 12(2), 255–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-022-00639-w

Land, K. J., Boeras, D. I., Chen, X.-S., Ramsay, A. R., & Peeling, R. W. (2019). REASSURED diagnostics to inform disease control strategies, strengthen health systems and improve patient outcomes. Nature Microbiology, 4(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-018-0295-3

Li, Y., Rao, S., Solares, J. R. A., Hassaine, A., Ramakrishnan, R., Canoy, D., Zhu, Y., Rahimi, K., & Salimi-Khorshidi, G. (2020). BEHRT: Transformer for Electronic Health Records. Scientific Reports, 10(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62922-y

Mathews, S. C., McShea, M. J., Hanley, C. L., Ravitz, A., Labrique, A. B., & Cohen, A. B. (2019). Digital health: A path to validation. Npj Digital Medicine, 2(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0111-3

Peisert, S. (2022). Request for Information (RFI) on Advancing Privacy Enhancing Technologies. https://www.nitrd.gov/rfi/2022/87-fr-35250/Peisert-PET-RFI-Response-2022.pdf

Santos, G., Murmura, F., & Bravi, L. (2018). Developing a model of vendor rating to manage quality in the supply chain. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 11(1), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-06-2017-0058

Solem, I. K. L., Varsi, C., Eide, H., Kristjansdottir, O. B., Børøsund, E., Schreurs, K. M. G., Waxenberg, L. B., Weiss, K. E., Morrison, E. J., Haaland-Øverby, M., Bevan, K., Zangi, H. A., Stubhaug, A., & Nes, L. S. (2020). A User-Centered Approach to an Evidence-Based Electronic Health Pain Management Intervention for People With Chronic Pain: Design and Development of EPIO. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(1), e15889. https://doi.org/10.2196/15889

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The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate an EHR vendor by analyzing key criteria that would be used to develop a request for information (RFI). You will choose an acute care or ambulatory setting and an EHR vendor to determine if the EHR vendor meets the needs of the setting.

In an essay, describe the considerations that need to be addressed during the EHR vendor evaluation process using the key criteria below. Evaluate your selected EHR vendor based on the research you have done on the key criteria. Include the following:

1. Describe the organization, services provided, and the need for a new system.
2. Explain the RFI process and the significance of a vendor evaluation and rating scale.
3. Describe the health care information system architecture, functionality, and applicability to health care practice (include research, administrative reporting, security, and certification).
4. Provide examples of how the EHR supports care coordination, interoperability, and electronic quality measures.
5. Explain the vendor implementation support and stakeholder education process.
6. Summarize the findings and whether or not to recommend the chosen health care setting and EHR vendor, based on applicability to health care practice, education, administration, and research.