Healthcare organizations invest millions of dollars into EHR projects. Establishing and continuously monitoring the data is important to keep those projects on track for success.

EHR implementation projects are costly for an organization; however, there are many expected benefits, like better documentation, safer care, better coordination of care, and more effective communication. The implementation stage can be difficult, as with any large-scale change. Many organizations experience lower productivity, miscommunications, frustration, and a temporary revenue downturn.

Research shows that the average time for a primary care clinic to recover productivity was ten months. The larger the organization, the typically the longer the loss of productivity.

EHR Implementation Metrics

Some metrics selected by an organization will be tied to the primary goals of the EHR project. Some primary benefits that organizations are looking for right now are:

• Improved practice efficiency
• Increased portability of health and medical records
• Boosted cybersecurity and data protection.
• Enhanced connections to pharmacies

Financial

While the HER budget is no doubt necessarily very detailed, expenses can be broadly dropped into four main buckets:

Financial metrics and adherence to the budget are obviously very important to track during an EHR implementation. The “unexpected expenses” bucket can wreak havoc on a healthcare organization if things don’t go according to plan.

A cost-benefit analysis is a calculation of the ROI of the project. Without a firm grip on the real numbers associated with direct and indirect costs, healthcare organizations risk financial jeopardy. In the days of Meaningful Use and potentially rushed implementations, some hospitals actually failed due to the financial strain. While this is less common today, the financial risks must be calculated accurately.

Performance

While everyone agrees that performance is critical, the definition of what that means varies. Deloitte highlights this by giving the following examples:

• To a developer, performance means that the system works as designed within operational requirements, with minimal errors resulting.
• To a hospital leader, performance is measured by the number of patients that can be seen by a provider per day, impacting revenue.
• To a CIO, performance means the system availability, or uptime, and the latency (speed) of the system.
• To providers, performance means that the system allows work to be done with minimal interruption and less time spent after-hours on EHR tasks.
• To patients, performance means that they were seen by their provider without long wait times and interruptions.

Time and Targets

Time is money, and additional time not on the project plan means the budget is also impacted. Project managers can keep the flow going and avoid bottlenecks by monitoring implementation times on a task-by-task basis.

Certain targeted milestones should be built in, with associated reporting to key stakeholders. Without that constant focus and accountability, it is easy for a portion of the train to derail.

The Role of Analytics

By using data analytics, the implementation process can be managed proactively to prevent unexpected expenses, delays, and performance issues. All decisions within this critical period can be data-driven, taking the guesswork out of Analytics provides real-time actionable data to:

• Track proficiency and skill sets used to complete tasks. This helps measure the success of training, categorize the level of performance, and further allocate resources.
• Targets opportunities within the EHR to grow to use through additional exposure, training, and education outreach.
• Drives action plans and supports adjustments for skill sets, modules, solutions, specialties, and roles.
• Informs effective and cost-saving project management decisions to achieve high proficiency and outcomes.

To end an EHR project with measurable success, a high ROI, great end-user adoption and satisfaction, and high patient satisfaction, rely on data analytics provided by solutions from the Rise family of companies. Want to see the metrics in action? Contact us for more information about how we can help guide your EHR project toward a successful finish.