Healthcare Advocacy Team & Technology

The healthcare industry has widely adopted IT solutions in the development and maintenance of information systems for this sector. These information system applications will go a long way in boosting medical care goals by reducing costs significantly, increasing efficiency in the process and achieving a zero error. With this, client satisfaction will be realized. At the core of this is the electronic medical records (EHR) which is representative of all the health information of an individual that is available in a database and can be shared across healthcare service providers (Rouse, 2016). Also integral to this system are two components; mobile health (mHealth) and telehealth (telemedicine). Though the two are interconnected, they have a slight difference. Telehealth includes home monitoring of health conditions through desktops, laptops and other online material (Terry, 2016), while mobile health is restricted to mobile devices.

Considering the impact of electronic medical records (EHR), it is the best choice to get started on digitalized healthcare in this setup. The key motivators for the implementation of EHR in a medical start up are: greater efficiency in the delivery of health services, enhanced client and service provider safety and affordability of healthcare services. With this achieved, there will be increased accessibility to healthcare services. Accurate information is key to good medical care, without which it would not be possible to make proper diagnosis and accurate decisions. Healthcare workers therefore need to be empowered with the correct tools to help them care for the patients, record and transfer information in a way that meets the regulatory requirements of the accrediting organization (Odenkule, 2016)

Team members and their roles

The team will comprise of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, records management staff, administration offers and other auxiliary staff. The clinical team is responsible both for educating their peers on the EHR implementation and constantly giving feedback about the process to the team charged with implementation. Three key people to consider are: The lead physician who is in charge of the execution and also connects the backend and the front end of this implementing team. They should be active in clinical practice. Second is the project manager who connects the EHR supplier with the implementing team, they keep track of the milestones, tracking the progress and addressing the day to day issues that may come up. Lastly is the lead super user who customizes the EHR software to the organizational needs and creates workflows and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to deal with issues raised by front-line users (Hodgkins, n.d)

Setting goals and empowering the team

According to WHO, goals are broad statements that describe the overall expected improvements related to the implementation of EHR (WHO,2017). The next stage is to harness clear goals derived from the situational analysis. This is the role of the coordinating team and implementation committee and the aim is to clarify the interventions to make it possible to measure outcomes in the future. Without this it will not be possible to know what progress has been made. Below are examples in which EHR can be implemented successfully in this environment.

Minimize hours spent tracing patient files.

EHR will allow for all patient data to be accessible from anywhere, at anytime with ease. With this, there will be continuity of care for example from one ward to the laboratory or from one clinician to the next on duty.

· With clinicians having different handwritings, EHR will go a long way in improving readability of medical records.
· Improved administration of drugs prescribed by use of on- screen alerts.
· Significantly minimize paper work due to the use of online records for laboratory results and other medical records that can be kept digitally.
· This will save on a lot of time that was previously used in manual filing of patient records.
· By being able to scan, send and attach documents, clinicians will be able to save on time waiting for the physical delivery of results.
· Easy transfer of patient records from one facility to another.
· Reduction in errors which occur while manually copying data from one chart to another.

It is critical for the team member to understand their role in helping the team successfully implement EHR. Most times, the team members already understand the role that they play in the team, what they need is for the leader to guide them on how to best get that role done. The team leader should create a conducive environment for the realization of the goals of the team. They should also equip the team with the right tools to help them achieve this. It is also important to recognize the unique abilities of each team member, their particular strengths and how they contribute to the overall vision of the team. Is does not matter how well or poorly a team member is performing, your value for them as a human being should never diminish and should always be evident (Heathfield, 2017)

As a leader, you should draw in the team to a vision that is bigger than themselves or their personal role in the team. Let them understand that they are a big part of the vision, mission and goals of the whole organization. It works best when you involve all team members in the planning and setting of goals. Let them contribute their ideas, opinions and insights at the key stage of goal setting, which will help them own the vision. When the whole team is looking up to a common goal, then you are looking to achieve the same deliverables and success indicators. When employees are empowered, they can achieve results even without anyone looking over their shoulder.

The value of proper delegation cannot be overemphasized. This means that you delegate not only tasks that people may not like, but also the exciting and motivating work that is enjoyable. Give your team members a chance to shine with good projects. Do not directly spoon feed your team members on how to carry out delegated tasks. Instead, provide an environment where they can ask questions and seek clarifications. In the end, you will discover that they actually know what to do and this will give you confidence in knowing that they can handle the situation competently on their own. This means that you can leave them to handle such situation in their future, because you are confident in the judgment they will make (Heathfield,2017).
Another important consideration to make is the team members’ morale. They need to feel recognized, appreciated and well compensated for the efforts that they put in. When team members are not empowered, they will not deliver results. To achieve successful empowerment, you need to recognize any extra effort put in, trust their good will to do the right thing, make right choices and also allow them to work with minimal supervision. Also, when it comes to giving directions, you must be clear on your expectations and demands. This will help your team members have full confidence in you. Hence, their energies will be spent on the tasks at hand and not on second guessing your intentions (Heathfield, 2017)

Conducting effective team meetings.

It is at team meetings where all team members; clinicians and administrative staff, get to sit and evaluate the progress made with the implantation of the EHR. They also chart the way forward. For these meetings to achieve the purpose, each member should be free to express their ideas on how to improve the process. Also, you need to pick the best possible time to hold this meeting and decide in advance what amount of time is required to achieve all the objectives of the meeting. This could be an hour or two depending on the availability of the team members. Whenever possible, schedule for a venue that is not within the clinical practice area to minimize on possible interruptions. Another key thing to consider for team meetings is setting of ground rules. Rules on punctuality and absenteeism for example must be established. All team members should actively participate in setting rules and a copy of the approved rules should be written and signed by each member. This will compel the team members adhere to the rules and commit to work towards the achievement of the purpose of the team meetings (Sinsky, n.d.)

You could choose to work with an agenda template for each meeting. The template for the agenda will have items such as: Check-in, Check- out, Shout out, topics to be discussed, Education and Debrief. You can tailor it to suit your needs. It is important to cascade the agenda to all team members prior to the meeting. You can circulate a copy online and make sure that each member is reached. Ensure that each agenda item has a person responsible for it and append their name next to the item, plus the duration of time allocated for that item. Have other members take up roles such as time keeper and secretary. It is also good to rotate these roles so that each member gets a chance to take leadership. If today a nurse was the time keeper physician the secretary, next time round have say the receptionist take up timekeeping and another person take up the secretary’s role. This will build confidence in the team and members will be able to showcase their strong points. Remember that team meetings are an opportunity for team members to interact and exchange ideas, and not a time for the leaders to pass information or hand out new tasks. Employees do not necessarily care for the paycheck more than anything else, they also want a fun and collaborative environment to work in. When they get this at the workplace, they are able to work better at achieving the broader goals of the organization. It is at team meetings where you can harness the problem solving and critical thinking skills of your team and develop team cohesion that will later translate to improved patient care. These strategies and techniques will boost the effort to create and implement productive team meetings (Sinsky, n.d.).

Team performance and coaching during the implementation of the new technology

Performance coaching is targeted towards helping employees tackle problems that affect their performance. It is also beneficial in improving the performance of the whole team or division. On the contrary, it does not aim at exposing the weak points of the employees or showcase the strengths of the human resource (HR). When employees understand this and they are able to view it as a positive exercise, it allows them to improve on their weaknesses, grow and become instrumental to the success of the organization. Employees who fail to embrace this as a positive measure need to be placed on a formal improvement plan (PIP) where the team leader will be tasked to provide close coaching and mentorship for the employee. The team leader should schedule meetings to evaluate how well the employee is working towards the objectives spelt out in the PIP. The HR department also closely follows up on the PIP progress of the employee, to assess how well they are progressing and if they are meeting the objectives spelt out. Should the employee fail to perform on the objectives outlined in the PIP, their employment can be severed (Heathfield, 2018).

Coaching is a tool that can be used to produce desirable goals such as employee fulfillment and a sense of achievement in the workplace. This is realized when employees are able to meet personal and organizational goals, achieve exceptional results, run successful projects and see the vision of the organization come to light. Effective coaching involves creativity, imagination and a strong emphasis on the learning curve. It is in the nature of humans to constantly learn new things and coaching plays well to this drive. It has three key components: achievement, fulfillment and joy. These three components are part and parcel of the requirements for the success of any organization. When one is lacking, the rest are compromised. When learning occurs but nothing is achieved, it saps the energy of the individual which leads to a lack of motivation and consequent failure. These negative consequences will impact on both the employee and the organization as a whole. That is why effective coaching is instrumental for the success of any organization. A few examples of areas where coaching should be implemented include: team building, change management, professional developments and life skills training.

Coaching involves general as well as specific components. Specific components of coaching encompass a wide array of functions such as: change management, financial managements, development of curriculum, continuous professional development, skills training, duty allocation, staff recruitment, guidance and counseling, dealing with diversity at the workplace, leadership skills development and other areas within and without clinical practice. When coaching is well implemented, individuals and organizations are able to achieve their goals. In a clinical setup, coaching helps in improving patient care and achieving better patient outcomes. Coached nurses can be better nurse managers and patient advocates. There are numerous benefits for adopting coaching as a strategy in the clinical set up. All clinical leaders should adopt coaching so as to support learning and achievement of the goals of the organization. (Narayanasamy & Penney, 2014)

For team members who are already performing well, coaching can be used to boost their performance to even higher levels. This will make them key contributors to the success of the organization. Coaching should be done well to sharpen the skills of employees and improve their ability to contribute to the organization (Heathfield, 2018). Coaching has managed to catch the eye of global leaders in the healthcare space in the recent past. It is now acknowledged as a key ingredient for the success of all healthcare organizations. When implemented successfully, it can serve as a cost cutting measure by locating employee development needs working on them and hence improving employee productivity. This will reduce the need to search and buy new talent, reduce employee turnover and lead to greater staff motivation. What proper coaching does is to send out a positive message to the staff that they are valued and appreciated by the organization. It creates a mutual benefit of achievement for both the coach and the one being coached. Coaching works best when it is implemented in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect (Chartered Management Institute, n.d).

References

Chartered Management Institute. (n.d.). Coaching for Improved Performance. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from http://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-bank/coaching-for-improved-performance
Ginsberg, D. (2011). Successful Preparation and Implementation of an Electronic Health Records System. Best Practices: A guide for improving the efficiency and quality of your practice.
Heathfield, S. M. (2017). Know the Top 10 Principles of Employee Empowerment. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.thebalance.com/top-principles-of-employee-empowerment-1918658
Heathfield, S. M. (2018). 6 Steps Help You Coach Employees Effectively. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.thebalance.com/use-coaching-to-improve-employee-performance-1918083
Hodgkins, M. (n.d.). Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation - STEPS Forward. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/ehr-implementation
Narayanasamy, A., & Penney, V. (2014). Coaching to promote professional development in nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing, 23(11), 568-573.
Odekunle, F. (2016). Current roles and applications of electronic health record in the healthcare system. Health Sciences, 5(12), 48-51.
Rouse, M. (2016). What is Health IT (health information technology)? Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/definition/Health-IT-information-technology
Sinsky, C. (n.d.). Conducting Effective Team Meetings - STEPS Forward. Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.stepsforward.org/modules/conducting-effective-team-meetings
Terry, K. (2016, January 11). Health IT glossary. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.cio.com/article/2985044/healthcare/health-it-glossary.html?page=5
WHO (2017). Handbook for Electronic Health Records Implementation. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://www.paho.org/ict4health/images/docs/DRAFT-Handbook_EHR_Implementation.pdf