FEATURE
around, and two of five met our needs. One was twice the price. We had a practice management (PM) system . . . from a different vendor than who we chose for our EMR. We could have remained with that PM software but decided there would be too many problems with a potential interface. With our old PM software, we had issues with customer support, stability of the system and the fact that we had to create several work-arounds to make it meet the ASC’s compliance needs. To avoid having to duplicate entries into both the PM software and the EMR, we chose to convert our PM software to the same vendor we selected for our EMR.
In addition, the system we chose Is Implementing EHR Technology Worth It?
Advice from an administrator who took the plunge BY KARA NEWBURY
E
ven though ASCs were not provided with incentive payments
like those that physician offices and hospitals received for implementing electronic medical record (EMR) systems, centers are increasingly beginning to consider installing this technology. Beverly Primeau, RN, CASC, administrator of
Concord
Ambulatory Surgery Center in Concord, New Hampshire, is an ASC professional who decided to be an early adopter. ASCA talked with her recently about why she believes that implementing an EMR was the right decision for her center and how adopting the new technology has affected her ASC.
24 ASC FOCUS JUNE/JULY 2014
ASCA: Why did you decide to implement EMR technology in your facility? PRIMEAU: We are a two-operating room ASC that handles about 2,500 cases a year. We did a cost–bene- fit analysis, and while we knew there would be higher costs in the beginning, we determined that in the long run, this decision would save us money. There is no more manual accounting and track- ing, which saves a lot of valuable time.
ASCA: How many systems did you consider before purchasing one? What went into the decision- making process? PRIMEAU: We evaluated five different systems. We did not want a work-
has all of the state reports we need in-system already. This gives us con- fidence that we are complying with all of our state requirements. We also chose the one that was the closest to a paper-based system while consider- ing price. It most closely reflected our documentation needs.
ASCA: How long have you had EMR technology? Has there been a learning curve? PRIMEAU: We went live in January 2013. We saw an increase in staffing cost initially during training. Registra- tion takes longer, and it took three months for physicians to be comfortable with the system, but now they like it. The only piece that has not gone live yet is the anesthesia intra-operative module. We have been working with the vendor to customize the anesthesia module and plan to go live with it by late spring.
What is the one area in which EMR technology has helped you the most? PRIMEAU: Our EMR technology has made ASCA Benchmarking simple. It quickly pulls all of the necessary infor- mation in one report. What used to take hours now takes 10 minutes.
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