CHIME releases EHR implementation guide

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) released recently a detailed guide intended to support healthcare CIOs in the implementation of electronic health records to meet the meaningful use requirements issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The publication, entitled The CIO’s Guide to Implementing EHRs in the HITECH Era, tackles the important steps healthcare organizations must take in successfully implementing electronic health records, from the initial planning through the final documentation of results.

Based on research involving nearly 170 CHIME members who provided information on real-world experiences of planning for and implementing electronic health records in their organizations, this guide provides new direction on the best practices for successful EHR adoption.

CHIME’s initiative for the guidebook is an extension of a collaborative effort involving the American Hospital Association (AHA) earlier this year. CHIME and the AHA worked together to produce the Healthcare Leader Action Guide on Implementing Electronic Health Records which was unveiled at this summer’s AHA and Health Forum’s Annual Leadership Summit. The CHIME-AHA joint publication provides important information for CEOs and other senior executives in hospitals.

Now CHIME has produced its companion, a CIO-oriented publication providing additional details on how organizations should focus their efforts to implement EHR systems that will qualify for stimulus funding payments through the HITECH Act.

“As the nation’s leading professional organization for healthcare IT executives, we felt it was important to gather the collective wisdom of our members and produce a guide that could help the nation’s providers through the next few years,” said CHIME Board President Timothy Stettheimer, Ph.D., FCHIME, CHCIO.

The guide is CHIME’s latest effort to shape the future of healthcare through IT leadership, which the organization is doing by assisting CIOs and senior healthcare IT leaders through education, collaboration and advocacy.

“The guide provides just a sample of the experience that CHIME’s members have in implementing these complex systems,” Stettheimer added. “CHIME offers a variety of professional and educational support to its members, which is crucial to IT executives embarking on the EHR journey.”

 

Source: CHIME