Healthcare Informatics

Case Study

Kate Huminick

HCM 500: Health Care Informatics

July 11, 2014

In the world of health care today electronic health records are the new technology that everyone is talking about. While this technology will move the health care world forward and improve quality overall, it is the implementation of the technology that some are having the problem with. In the Kennebeck et al article, “Impact of electronic health record implementation on patient flow metrics in a pediatric emergency department” the authors are looking to see whether the implementation of EHRs has a positive or negative impact on off-loading low acuity visits to alternative care sites, patient length of stay, time to medical provider, and the productivity of providers before and after the EHR implementation (2011).

The site for this case study is Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Emergency department (Kennebeck, 2011). This emergency department is an urban pediatric level 1 trauma center (Kennebeck, 2011). In 2009 they had over 94,000 visits (Kennebeck, 2011). CCHMC Emergency Department had being using EHRs for approximately one and a half years when the hospital decided that they were going to implement EHRs across the whole hospital (Kennebeck, 2011). . It was going to be phased in over 2 years and during this two years was when the H1N1 pandemic started (Kennebeck, 2011). To help with the over flow of people that the ED was receiving the hospital set up an overflow clinic.

During this case study the authors looked at and reviewed the data from all the patients that visited the ED over a two week time block during the implementation process. Here is what they found. Each two week block was mostly the same in regards to the number of patients seen. The authors of this study concluded that patient flow delays will occur during the implementation of electronic health records in a busy emergency department but that within three months everything will be back...