Adopting a new EHR system, whether due to an upgrade, consolidation, merger or acquisition, is a gargantuan undertaking for any-sized healthcare organization. How quickly and successfully your new system is implemented depends largely on how you approach abstract patient data and convert it to the new system.
Electronic conversion is the easiest method for transferring data; however, it’s not without hiccups. One being the new system may not accept certain data in the old system’s way of formatting it, requiring manual data entry. Another is the data conversion is a budget- and time-intensive process, taking away staff’s focus from patient care and often leading to overtime.
Instead, it’s beneficial to include outsourced chart abstraction support early on in the process with an experienced partner in planning, preparation, data migration and ongoing oversight. Doing so leads to four valuable benefits.
1. Keep providers’ schedules on-track and avoid excessive wait times for patients.
Without the right support, your providers could be forced to search for or wait for staff to find critical patient information, putting them behind schedule and leaving patients waiting. Outsourcing chart abstraction takes this burden off of your busy staff’s shoulders, ensuring information is readily available when your providers need it. Without any delays due to your staff’s availability to migrate the necessary data, you can rest assured patients’ records are ready when needed during an appointment.
2. Ensure patient charts are up-to-date with information and reports at the time of care.
Since old and target EHR systems don’t necessarily share the same data points and elements, manual abstraction is warranted for some fields. Even in a highly comprehensive data conversion, there will likely be data providers want in the new EHR that didn’t electronically convert or needs to be added manually.
When you outsource to ScanSTAT, we make sure our staff is always available to preload your patient charts for their appointment, freeing your in-house staff to focus on patients. Hiring, training and managing staff to prep patient charts are off your already-full plate. ScanSTAT’s chart abstraction specialists already have a lot of experience in all major EHRs, so they enter data into your new EHR quickly and accurately.
3. Eliminate overtime costs for chart prep and data abstraction.
Between past and scheduled appointments, active and standing orders, medications, immunization history, allergies, and medical, surgical, social and family histories, plus pulling
that data from either the old EHR or from paper documents, the data conversion and migration process can overburden an already busy team. Because data abstraction is a huge influx of work that needs to be completed over a short period of time, it’s too much to expect current staff to handle without sacrificing other tasks. Yet, chart prep and data abstraction doesn’t warrant hiring full time employees for this project alone.
Your chart abstraction project can be the difference between a rocky start and a smooth transition to your new EHR. Our implementation process only takes a few hours of your time for preparation, and we can be preloading your charts in just a few weeks.
4. Relieve staff and provider frustration.
When preparing for go-live of your new EHR, incomplete data, missing documents and staff workloads and absences can all result in frustration. Not to mention the fact that getting accustomed to a new EHR can be hard enough on your staff even without the added complications of a messy conversion. Let ScanSTAT take on the burden of chart abstraction, so your staff and providers can keep their focus on patient care.
Outsourcing Chart Abstraction Makes Sense for Everyone
Migrating data to a new EHR is a complicated, time-consuming, detail-oriented process. But, the time and burden associated with your migration doesn’t have to fall on your staff’s shoulders. Nor, does it have to impact your patients’ experience.
Outsourcing chart abstraction service to an experienced partner, like ScanSTAT, during an EHR conversion will eliminate stress on your providers’ parts and ensure consistent patient care. We help you:
· Keep providers’ schedules on-track and avoid excessive wait times for patients
· Ensure patient charts are up-to-date with information and reports at the time of care
· Eliminate overtime costs for chart preparation and data abstraction
· Relieve staff and provider frustration Schedule a short demo and see how ScanSTAT’s specialists can make chart abstraction easier for everyone.
Schedule a short demo and see how ScanSTAT’s specialists can make chart abstraction easier for everyone.