PowerPoint Presentation

Emory Heart & Vascular Center:The Vascular Surgery DepartmentChantrice CopelandIT 6503/900Fall 2013- Dr. Zhang

IntroductionAbout The Vascular Surgery DepartmentDivision of Emory HealthcareDiagnoses and treats patients with vascular issuesNationally certified Established over 75 years agoInternational leader in the advancement of arterial and venous disease treatments

The Vascular Surgery Department within Emory Healthcare diagnoses and treats patients with vascular issues such as: venous insufficiency, peripheral vascular disease, carotid disease, abdominal aneurysm, etc. They are nationally certified to perform carotid duplex ultrasound imaging; arteriovenous (AV) fistula, bypass graft, and upper- and lower-venous studies; and arterial pressure studies (Emory Healthcare, n.d.). The department was established over 75 years ago and has been recognized as an international leader in the advancement of arterial and venous disease treatments.

2Introduction (cont.)Why I chose this locationEase of access to intervieweeOngoing contact with her for more info vs feeling like I am bothering someone I barely knowReliable source of informationGood in depth info from interviewee

I chose to conduct my survey and interview at the Vascular Surgery Department of the Emory Clinic because I had easy access to a staff member who has been there for over a decade and is very familiar with their practices and use of HIT. Moreover, being that this is someone in my family, I felt more comfortable with being able to continuously go to her with questions as opposed to feeling like I am constantly bothering a stranger. I knew that I would have a reliable source of information to complete this project, and I would get good in depth information.3

http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/vascular/

This is just a screenshot of the Vascular Surgerys homepage. Here you see that the site gives a variety of information that is useful to both patients and physicians.4Care CoordinatorShakita CopelandOne of two Care CoordinatorsServes over 200 patientsEmployed with Emory for 10+ yearsWorks with a team of about 20Primary RoleCoordinating surgeriesCoordinating routine office visits

Shakita Copeland is a Care Coordinator at the clinic, where she has continuously served over 200 patients for more than ten (10) years. She frequently works with a team of about 20 people, including: one Administrator, two Physician Assistants, three Vascular Techs, two Care Coordinators, one Secretary, six Physicians, one Nurse Practitioner, two Licensed Practical Nurses, and two Front Desk Representatives. She also interacts with the clinics surgeons from time to time, although they are not a part of the immediate team of 20. Shakitas primary role as Care Coordinator includes, but is not limited to, coordinating surgeries and routine office visits. Over the years, she has built upon her knowledge and expertise through direct on the job expertise and networking, whereas her education was not a big contributing factor to her current knowledge in her role as Care Coordinator.

5HIT Survey SnapshotTypical Care Coordinatormarketing initiatives and recruitmentReaching out to various physiciansFollowing up with prospective patientsUses EHRsAllows a good amount of personalization in work environmentsAllows a great deal of information exchangeCare Coordinators often give input

As a result of the survey given, it is seen that Care Coordinators, in the Vascular Surgery Department at the Emory Clinic, perform a great deal of marketing initiatives and recruitment with patients and referring physicians. This may include but isnt limited to reaching out to various physicians throughout the medical community, and following up with prospective patients- informing them with needed information about the Vascular Surgery Department. The Vascular Surgery Department uses Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR). Their EHR system allows a good amount of personalization in their work environments, and also allows a great deal of information exchange between the various staff members. Care Coordinators are often asked for their input on the EHR system, as the system is used regularly to treat patients and enable innovative ways to work.

6HIPAA & Meaningful Use 2HIPAAAll staff complete compliance modules annuallyModules consist of:DiscussionsReviewsUpdatesNewslettersMeaningful Use 2Similar routine as HIPAA for meeting standards

In order to meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) policies and procedures, the department requires that all staff complete compliance modules on an annual basis. These modules consist of various discussions, reviews, and updates regarding HIPAA and staying compliant. Throughout the year, staff members receive newsletters reminding them of ways to remain compliant (i.e., not discussing patients information in public places). Just like with their HIPAA compliance reminders, the clinic uses the same or similar routine to ensure that they are meeting Meaningful Use 2 standards. The staff members are required to complete refresher training modules and information is frequently provided to keep staff aware and updated on current and new Meaningful Use 2 standards.

7ObamacareUpdated form(s)Detail the various types of accepted insurancesScheduled to be released soon, Prior to the end of the yearMost useful for medical coding and billing staffMore knowledgeable for information dissemination

With Obamacare being a huge topic in current news and media, various hospitals and clinics have to take certain measures so that they can effectively deal with this law and still provide services to their patients. The Vascular Surgery Department has implemented an updated form for patients and staff that will detail the various types of insurance that the clinic will accept. This particular form is scheduled to be released soon, prior to the end of the year. This form will be most useful by the medical coding and billing team because it will assist them in gaining more knowledge about the insurance plans and thus, will be able to better inform and explain to patients whether their insurance is accepted and if it is in or out of network.

8EHRChallengesEnsuring information is not duplicatedMaking sure everything is entered in appropriate sectionStaff may feel need to move quickly entering informationEnsuring system is constantly up and runningSmall challenge that can lead to bigger problem laterSuggestionsUse cautionPossible checks and balance Maintain recovery management plan

With the use of electronic healthcare records becoming a growing trend in the medical industry, it is important that staff recognize the benefits and challenges of using such technology. Some of the main challenges faced by this clinic with their use of EHRs include ensuring that information is not duplicated and making sure everything is entered in the appropriate section. This can be challenging because a staff member may feel the need to move quickly for the sake of the patient. Another challenge faced is one that any company may face when using technological system- making sure that the system is constantly up and running in an effect and efficient manner. These challenges may be small or simple right now, but if solutions arent found to overcome these challenges, they could present larger problems in the future as EHR systems become more dominant and increase in operability features. As for the first two challenges mentioned, Id suggest that the clinic use caution when entering information to ensure that its not a duplicate record and ensure information is entered in the appropriate spot; and maybe even have a checks and balance system where another staff member double check the records. As for the technological challenge, I think that is something that any clinic using EHRs will face. The only solution for this is to seemingly have a plan in back in case the system goes down.

9ConclusionInterviewInsightfulGood information and feedback on HITInformation from someone who uses it on a daily basisNon-IT professionals do not often think about their technologyProvided knowledge on processes within the medical field as it relates to HIT

To conclude, the interview with Shakita was very insightful. It provided good information and feedback on the healthcare information technology from someone who actually uses the technology on a daily basis. I found it interesting, but not surprising, that individuals not directly involved in an Information Technology Department or role do not think much about the technology that they use, which is essential to daily operations. Conducting this interview and survey allowed me to gain knowledge on processes within a medical clinic as well as how they stay compliant and handle challenges they face when using healthcare information technology.10Thank You!!!