Assignment: Frontline Clinicians

NOW F OR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT:Assignment: Frontline Clinicians

For an organization that seeks to meet these measures, the data to support these measures must be gathered and reported on electronically—necessitating the use of technology in all patient care areas. The successful implementation of the measurement development plan “depends on a successful partnership with patients, frontline clinicians, and professional organizations and collaboration with other diverse stakeholders to develop measures that are meaningful to patients and clinicians and can be used across payers and health care settings” ( CMS, 2016c , p. 64). Many of the quality reporting measures rely on nursing and medical documentation. Most healthcare personnel already use EHRs, but MACRA measures will push healthcare organizations to reexamine the use of clinical technologies within their organization and approach implementations in a new way.

Not only is there a potential for patient safety and quality issues to arise from technology implementations that do not address workflow, but a financial impact to the organization is possible as well. All organizations, regardless of their industry, must operate efficiently to maintain profits and continue to provide services to their customers. For hospitals, which normally have significantly smaller profit margins than other organizations, the need to maintain efficient and effective care is essential for survival. Given that hospital profit margins are diminishing, never has there been a more crucial time to examine the costs of errors and poorly designed workflows and the financial burden they present to an organization than now. Moreover, what are the costs to an organization that fails to address the integration of technology? This is an area where few supporting data exist to substantiate the claim that technology without workflow considerations can, in fact, impact the bottom line.

Today, many healthcare organizations are experiencing the effects of poorly implemented clinical technology solutions. These effects may be manifested in the form of redundant documentation, non-value-added steps, and additional time spent at the computer rather than in direct care delivery.