Readiness for Change
With an ever-increasing population and the rising cost of medical care, the healthcare industry is in need of innovated ways to provide quality health care while containing cost. Technological advances offer one-such solution to cost containment, though, adoption of Information Technology (IT) in the health care industry remains low despite overwhelming evidence that the use of electronic medical records (EMR) has improved staff efficiency, increased preventative care measures, and decreased medical errors thus lowering healthcare cost (Childs, 2009). Even in an environment that is rich with evidence-based innovations, diffusion of successful electronic medical records remains a problem in the healthcare industry. This paper will explore the implementation of transitioning to an EMR in a specific facility.
Implementation of an Electronic Medical Record The change initiative in this scenario is implementation of an EMR. In 2004, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology was developed as a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law, the goal of this act was to create new jobs and spur economic activity and invest in long-term growth (U.S. Government, 2012). The Act had a plan to achieve goals by providing $787 billion that would offer tax cuts and benefits for many working families, fund entitlement programs, such as unemployment benefits, and offer federal loans, and contracts (U.S. Government, 2012). After the Act was signed, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIM) was given $2 billion in discretionary spending (Steinbrook, 2009). The coordinator of HIM set a goal of utilizing an effective electronic health record for every person in the United States by 2014 (Steinbrook, 2009). Therefore, the initiative