The Obama administration is encouraging broader use of electronic records in the United States with the aim of reducing medical errors, eliminating redundant testing and saving money overall.
The $787 billion U.S. economic stimulus law signed by President Barack Obama in February, 2009 included $19 billion to promote adoption of health information technology such as electronic medical records. With the push in automation, home health providers will have to make a choice in choosing the right software vendor that will meet their needs.
Unfortunately, almost all Home Health 'solutions' are more problematic than they are solutions.
There are vendors that target the smaller home health agencies by offering low-priced 'solutions' built with outdated technology that has surpassed its developer's end-of-life' notice and became a patch work of old and, some what, modern technology. It's like buying a shiny computer with outdated spare parts that are hard to find because they are no longer being manufactured. Would you trust your confidential patient records in such instability and uncertainty? Would you compromise your confidential data? Surprisingly, many agencies are unknowingly heading down this path...and they are paying for this 'technology'! Does the cost-savings really outweigh the risks?
Then there are the 'big' software vendors who are raking in big bucks in offering costly and lengthy training sessions just to learn how to use and maintain their 'solutions'. Installation and implementation could take 4 to 6 months - sometimes even more. In the Home Health industry, time and money is not a luxury.
Some vendors boast offering 24/7 customer support - does it really require 24 hours, 7 days a week to support a 'state-of-the-art' solution? The more stable and intuitive the solution, the less support it should need.
Because agility is an important factor in survival, the ideal solution is one that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, with the proper security to protect patient records. With home health agencies being forced to be more efficient, the ideal solution should not require any specialized training such as complex installations and updates. Many home health agencies cannot afford to have an in-house IT staff so the ideal solution must be virtually maintenance free. Furthermore, to get the clinicians on board and minimize resistance, the user-interface must have the look and feel that they are already accustomed to - paper forms.
