What’s inside:
The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are both crucial elements of modern healthcare management. However, as the world of healthcare becomes increasingly more “joined up”, lack of integration between the ERP and EMR systems is impacting the efficiency of healthcare operations and disrupting data management.
The Challenge of Connecting the EMR to the ERP
One of the most significant areas of disconnect between EMRs and ERPs lies in the intersection between inventory tracking and procurement. Many electronic health record systems, such as EPIC, have underdeveloped inventory modules, making it difficult for healthcare providers to accurately track and manage their supplies. Product reference numbers, maintained in the Item Master of the ERP, can be cumbersome to manage, leading nurses to rely on manual data entry to get items into the system. This inefficient method of data collection can have a negative impact on procurement, with inaccurate data leading to poor procurement decisions that result in stock-outs or excess inventory.
Don’t Make this Common Mistake
The disconnect between EMRs and ERP systems often leads healthcare providers to believe that the problem lies with their EMR system. In an attempt to improve data quality, they may switch to a new system only to find that the underlying issues persist. The reality is that the problem is not the system itself, but rather the lack of quality data collected and recorded at the point of use.
Rather than switching electronic medical record systems systems, healthcare providers should focus on boosting the inventory management capabilities of their existing EMR. This can be achieved by using a specialist application that enhances data collection at the point of use.
By ensuring that these core hospital systems are fed real-time, high-quality data, healthcare providers can break the cycle of inefficiency and improve their overall operations.
The Benefits of Data Quality
By enhancing point of use data collection processes so that full and accurate data on surgical data usage is recorded in hospital systems, healthcare providers can reap numerous supply chain benefits, including:
- Improved accuracy: Automated technology electronically captures and validates consumption data, then ensures full product details, such as full UDI, batch/lot, and expiry date, are recorded in the EHR/EMR.
- Real-time updates: Data can be shared between core systems, ensuring that all systems are up to date and that the administrative and operational workflows that utilize their data, run smoothly.
- Enhanced efficiency: By streamlining the inventory and procurement process, healthcare providers can save time, reduce labor, and lower costs.
- Improved patient care: Accurate inventory tracking of stock items and consumption ensures a balanced inventory with supplies available on demand, and enhanced patient safety, due to built-in, systemic protections, and robust patient records.
AI Add-On to Enhance Data Collection
The disconnect between EMRs and ERPs can have a significant impact on healthcare operations. Data needs to flow from one system to the other to ensure procurement is based on actual demand.
Surgical supply utilization data can be accurately collected using new AI camera technology which finally streamlines and simplifies perioperative documentation and ensures that supply usage data is promptly entered into the patient chart.
By accessing a third-party application that boosts the efficiency of EMR systems such as EPIC and Workday, point of use data capture capabilities, healthcare providers can improve data quality, enhance efficiency, and ultimately provide better patient care.
Improving surgical supply data capture has a significant impact on clinical records, medical billing, inventory management, quality assurance, compliance, and patient safety.
Find out more about our EMR add-on – a surgical supply optimization tool that delivers 100% item and charge capture in operating rooms and procedure rooms.
Contact us for a demo today.
