When it comes to healthcare, there are many different types of facilities and settings. There are acute care hospitals, specialty care hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, ambulatory care centers, surgical centers, outpatient clients, physicians’ offices, rehabilitation centers, pediatric care hospitals, and many more. What all of these different care settings have in common is that they most certainly benefit from some form of electronic health record (EHR) software, each with their own specific needs. What they do not have in common, is the type of patients or type of care they provide. Pediatric patients and healthcare facilities require the right approach to install their Pediatric EHR.
An acute care hospital’s primary task is to provide short-term care for people with varying degrees of health issues. These usually stem from injury, disease, or genetics. They are open 24/7/365 and bring together physicians from varied specialties, a skilled nursing staff, technicians, and specialized equipment. Most hospitals offer a wide range of services including emergency room, labor and birth, scheduled surgeries, and lab work. Acute care hospitals utilize standard EHR software where each department has a specific module with tailored functionality to meet their needs.
The difference between the standard acute care hospital and pediatric care hospitals is, of course, the patients. Though it may seem obvious, teams in pediatric facilities must recognize that infants, children and those with special needs are not merely small adults and they cannot be treated as such. Caregivers must pay additional attention to how they interact with pediatric patients and their families. Bedside manner, psycho-social considerations, and family dynamics have to be considered during the course of care. In many respects, the Pediatric EHR must be treated the same.
Pediatric facilities have unique requirements that dictate many aspects of their EHR software adoption. Hardware and device placement have unique needs to facilitate documentation where the patient is – many times patients aren’t located in their bed or assigned room. Specific attention and adherence to isolation requirements are vital. Also, close attention should be given to screen visibility to include parents or other approved family members engaged in care planning, patient teaching, and patient education. Consideration is also given to the multi-disciplinary care team engaged with a pediatric patient – case management, social work, therapies, child life services, etc.
Hospitalizations are essential for both adults and children. How a healthcare organization chooses to treat them is even more critical. Pediatric organizations require special machines, special tests, special nurses, special doctors, and more importantly SPECIALIZED Pediatric EHR software systems. While the primary objective for healthcare organizations is to provide high-quality patient care, they must also make money. Reimbursement rates continue to decrease which calls for consistent best practices for both hospitalized adults and child to ultimately reduce the length of stays. Effective and efficient use of the EHR coupled with the power of the data it provides is crucial to patient satisfaction and improved care. Additionally, healthcare organizations can save money and improve patient care by partnering with healthcare IT consulting companies who have the knowledge and methodologies to ensure that when an EHR is implemented, no matter the setting or patient type, it will be done correctly.
Whether it is a standard acute care hospital or a specialized pediatric hospital, Optimum’s expert resources recognize these needs and facilitate incorporation of the “triangle of care” – meaning patient, family and caregiver/device. In the majority of our activations, we have provided expert support for pediatric inpatient settings, PICU settings, Leve 2, 3 and 4 NICU’s, Pediatric Trauma and Emergency Room settings while implementing their Pediatric EHR.
While preparation is undoubtedly a key ingredient for success, all the planning in the world can yield minimal results if you don’t have the right people in place to execute the plan. In addition to the years of experience Optimum brings to the table, we also specialize in allocating the right resources – the right people – for your project at the right time. Optimum Healthcare IT uses its SkillMarket portal to not only manage your go-live resources, but to optimize resources based on your needs, their skillset, and geo-location.
Our commitment to your needs ensures that your implementation will be successful throughout your planning, go-live, stabilization, and optimization. And once you make it through the arduous task of implementing an electronic health record, the challenge then becomes sustaining it and meaningfully using it. Optimum Healthcare IT has the best team in the business.
