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When Cathy Thomas Hess, BSN, RN, CWOCN, president and CEO of Well Care Strategies, a wound care-focused health information technology and clinical consulting company, formed her organization in 1995 (and ultimately created her own system of electronic health records), she was, in essence, participating in a revolution.
"I created an EHR for our clients to use and be compliant in both the outpatient and inpatient wound care [arenas]," said Hess, referring to her initial system.
"By 2007 I was getting calls for just the EHR, more so than for the clinical component of the company. We started to look around and we found that this product was critical to meeting regulatory compliance, such as Meaningful Use standards, supporting outcomes, driving revenue recognition and facilitating ease of use."
Hess is not the only one to have noticed the importance of an electronic system for documentation. Hospitals, private practices, nursing homes and almost every type of healthcare facility throughout the country have begun implementing EHRs into their systems.
"One of the biggest benefits is the ability to have the information at the point of care," said Joyce Sensmeier, RN-BC, MS, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, FAAN, vice president of Informatics at HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), a not-for-profit organization that provides leadership for the optimal use of healthcare IT and management systems.
"It's a constant dialogue. It's real-time data that allows you to see changes while they're happening and not after the fact when the patient comes back in for a checkup."
Sue Coyle is a freelance writer in Bucks County, PA.
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