It's All About Workflow: A Misplaced Focus on Automating Transactions will Never Bring About the Healthcare System Everyone Seeks (Experts' Corner‪)‬

Today, many healthcare facilities are aggressively pursuing new EMR and CPOE systems to extend their already installed core HIS systems. The new federal ARRA program is promoting adoption of these new systems in an effort to reduce healthcare costs. ARRA will reward or penalize facilities that do not achieve "meaningful use" of new systems. In fact, just recently the Obama administration was able to get hospital trade associations to agree to cut healthcare payments by some $200 billion over the next decade, thereby implying that they will be able to cut costs by at least that amount. With $200 billion as the savings goal, more than new EMRs and CPOEs will be needed. Health organizations will have to find ways to do more with less labor and capital resources. HIS, CPOE and EMR alone will not, and cannot, achieve this goal. What will be needed is in-depth workflow and process re-engineering systems and tools to support these efforts. Some health providers who are pursuing new EMRs and CPOEs believe that the vendor systems they plan to purchase will include all the capabilities necessary to address workflow; in fact, some vendors market their systems on that basis. What many providers do not understand is the day and night difference between an HIS/CPOE/EMR and a system designed to analyze, and support workflow improvements.