Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) are like the control centers of modern healthcare. But we need to connect them to other systems to get the most out of them. That’s where EMR integration apps come in.
These apps are bridges connecting EMRs to other tools, like patient portals, health apps, and medical devices. They make sharing patient data easier, automating tasks, and giving patients more control over their health.
By connecting EMRs to other systems, healthcare providers can:
- Make better decisions: They can see a bigger picture of a patient’s health.
- Save time: Automate tasks and reduce paperwork.
- Improve patient experience: Give patients easy access to their health records.
- Track trends: Identify patterns in health data to improve overall care.
In short, EMR integration apps are like the glue that holds everything together in healthcare. They help us get the most out of technology and improve the care we give to patients.
EPIC Showroom App: Client Case Study
However, things aren’t always simple and straightforward because there are cases when the standard workflow doesn’t meet the requirements of the business. One of our clients had a specific case that forced us to devise creative ways to use Epic’s showroom and FHIR standards.
Imagine you’re rushing to the hospital with a loved one in an emergency—every second counts. The doctors need as much information as possible to make the right decisions about their care.
Beyond the tests done at the hospital, there might be previous medical records that could be crucial. Have they had surgeries, taken medications, or been diagnosed with any conditions? Knowing this can help doctors tailor the treatment plan and provide better care.
That’s why it’s so important to have a system that can quickly and easily access a patient’s medical history, no matter where they’re coming from.
One of the biggest hurdles we encountered in our EMR integration project was ensuring that patient data was updated in real time across all systems. This was especially tricky when patients arrived at the ER, but their client IDs in the hospital system were initially unknown. We needed a way to quickly identify patients and get their information from one system to another so doctors could make the best decisions.
Another challenge was keeping everyone in the loop about a patient’s condition. We needed to get instant updates about the patient’s condition. This meant building a system that could send alerts as soon as something changed, without having to update everyone manually.
To tackle these two hurdles and streamline the operations and processes between hospitals and EPIC, between FHIR and HL7 v2, we created an app in the EPIC Showroom that utilizes the APIs to provide information to and from the hospitals.
What are the business goals of creating an EPIC Showroom app?
The overarching goal of integrating an electronic medical records (EMR) system with Epic Showroom is three-fold:
- enhance patient care
- improve operational efficiency, and
- drive down costs.
Our client needed a solution that would become the bridge between the hospitals and the EPIC EMR system and would provide almost real-time data about the changes in the patient’s status, becoming the tool for insurance companies’ utilization reviews as well.
| Goals & Objectives | Technical Challenges | |
|---|---|---|
| Improve Data Accessibility | Comprehensive patient view: Integrate data from multiple sources (e.g., labs, radiology, pharmacy) to provide a holistic view of the patient’s health. Real-time information: Ensure that healthcare providers have access to the most up-to-date patient information at the point of care. | Data quality issues: Inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated data can compromise the reliability of information and hinder decision-making. Real-time data synchronization: Ensuring that data is updated across all systems simultaneously can be technically challenging due to latency and system performance issues. Also, while EPIC supports real-time notifications, there still should be requests for certain information, not just “everything that happens with the patient,” which can be critical in terms of ER, for example. Data security and privacy: Protecting sensitive patient information while enabling data sharing requires robust security measures and compliance with regulations. |
| Streamline Workflows | Reduce manual data entry: By automating the transfer of patient information between systems, healthcare providers can spend more time on patient care and less time on administrative tasks. The solution we developed helps to streamline the process of utilization Accelerate care delivery: Streamlined access to patient records can expedite decision-making and reduce wait times for treatments and procedures. | Data mapping challenges: Inconsistencies in data formats and terminology between systems can hinder data exchange and workflow automation. Integration complexity: Integrating multiple systems and ensuring seamless data flow can be technically demanding and time-consuming. Workflow disruption: Implementing new processes and procedures can disrupt existing workflows and require extensive user training. |
| Enhance Patient Experience | Patient portals: Enable patients to securely access their health records, schedule appointments, and communicate with providers, including various hospitals and insurance companies. Personalized care: Use patient data to deliver tailored care plans and recommendations. | User interface challenges: Designing intuitive and user-friendly interfaces for patient portals can be complex, especially for patients with varying technical proficiency. Data privacy concerns: Balancing the need for patient engagement with data privacy requirements can be challenging. System reliability and performance: Ensuring consistent and reliable access to patient portals is crucial for a positive patient experience. |
| Increase Revenue | Identify revenue opportunities: Analyze patient data to identify potential revenue streams, such as preventive care services or bundled payments. Reduce costs: Optimize resource utilization and eliminate redundant processes through data-driven insights. | Data analytics complexity: Extracting actionable insights from large and complex datasets requires advanced analytics tools and expertise. Integration with revenue cycle management systems: Coordinating data exchange between the EMR and revenue cycle systems can be technically challenging. Payor reimbursement complexities: Navigating varying reimbursement rules and regulations can impact revenue generation. |
| Meet Regulatory Requirements | HIPAA compliance: Ensure that patient data is protected and handled by HIPAA regulations. (The solution that we have developed for our client is HIPAA-compliant.) Meaningful Use: Demonstrate compliance with government initiatives promoting the use of electronic health records. | Compliance complexity: Adhering to multiple regulatory standards (e.g., HIPAA, Meaningful Use) can be burdensome and requires ongoing monitoring. Data exchange standards: Integrating with different healthcare systems that use varying data standards can be complex and time-consuming. (In our project, we had to come up with a way to unite HL7 v2 and FHIR efficiently.) Security and privacy risks: Protecting patient data while meeting regulatory requirements presents significant technical challenges. |
| Future-Proof the Organization | Data interoperability: Build a foundation for future integrations with other healthcare systems and devices. Scalability: Design a system that can accommodate increasing volumes of data and growing user needs. | Architecture: At the very start of your development, if you are creating from scratch, ensure that your project architecture supports easy scalability. Otherwise, the more the amount of data in your system increases, the more difficult it’ll be to add scalability. |
You might also be interested in our previous blog articles: HL7 v2 Integration Challenges in Hospitals and Navigating the Healthcare Data Landscape: HL7, FHIR, and Beyond.
Conclusion
In the fast-paced environment of healthcare, timely and accurate patient information is paramount. Our experience integrating EMR systems, particularly with Epic Showroom, highlighted the critical need for real-time data exchange and efficient patient identification.
By developing a solution that addresses these challenges, we were able to streamline workflows, improve patient care, and enhance overall system efficiency. While the journey was complex, the rewards in terms of improved patient outcomes and operational efficiency make it a worthwhile endeavor.
Successful EMR integration requires careful planning, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of the healthcare ecosystem. By combining these elements, healthcare organizations can unlock the full potential of their EMR systems and deliver superior patient care.
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