Looking Forward
Yesterday's general sessions were all about looking to the future of health care, and, as Jonathan Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, FACP, FACML, clinical services, HCA, said at his presentation, HIM professionals are optimistic, not just hopeful, about what lies ahead.
Dr. Perlman showed shocking statistics about the state of health care in America, and then used the VA's work, along with HCA's work, to show that the future can hold positive changes to the state of health care as we know it in America. There's a challenging journey ahead, Dr. Perlman said, and HIM professionals will be leading the way.
Later in the day, in one of the educational sessions, I got a chance to see just how HIM professionals are changing the future with health information technology. I attended a presentation by Danielle Berthelot, RHIA, HIM director and privacy officer, Women's Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA. Berthelot spoke about her hospital's journey to an EHR, and she organized her presentation into the thoughts that she wishes she had before the site implemented the technology.
First off, Berthelot said that organizations really need to look into why they are pursuing an electronic record in the first place. In a paper-based environment, she noted, HIM professionals are just "pushing information from one place to another," and not using the information or growing through the information. With an EHR, the technology becomes the center of the workflow, and all things amount to improving workflow and productivity for someone along the line.
Berthelot detailed the process of her own hospital's go live, and pointed out some of the challenges Women's Hospital had and many of the positives ahead in the future and happening currently because of the technology.
Berthelot closed by saying, "Thing are going to change. Nothing is going to remain the same. And it shouldn't."
She also asked the audience members if they were up for the challenge of change. The session was well-attended, and personally, I was impressed with Berthelot's honesty and determination, which both shined through during the presentation.