1
Easier charting
Without EMRs, a staff member has to pull and prepare charts
for the next day's cases. The chart moves through the facility
with the patient, but nurses in pre-op and the anesthesia provider in
the OR might fight over who needs it more. At the end of the day,
you're left with a stack of folders stuffed with loose sheets and forms,
which must be organized and submitted to billing. You then have to
hunt down the charts before placing follow-up phone calls to patients.
With EMRs, all clinical information is scanned into the system and
available with a few mouse clicks. Multiple staff members can access
records simultaneously without running around to track down the
chart they need. For example, a staff member in the billing office can
be coding operative notes while a nurse making post-op phone calls
reviews the clinical data. Plus, file cabinets aren't taking up valuable
space in your facility.
2
Coordinated care
The patient's chart is automatically created and updated in the
system, and multiple caregivers can view patient data simulta-
neously and from different locations. All of the users collect and input
data in real time, so patient safety is significantly enhanced.
For example, an anesthesia provider in the OR can access the next
patient's chart to assess allergies and the health history before reach-
ing the patient's bedside in pre-op. The nurse in recovery, who's trying
to manage a patient's uncontrolled pain or PONV and has exhausted
the treatment options ordered by the anesthesia provider, can contact
the provider electronically and request feedback based on the notes
she's inputted into the EMR. The anesthesia provider can review the
situation, place the next medication order and determine if he's truly
needed bedside. He can also track the patient's condition after he's
9 6
O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
