As healthcare technology has evolved over the past few decades, public health agencies have faced some challenges that others in the “for-profit” world have not. An excellent example of this is the increasing number of specialty systems available for the various clinical and case management programs those public health providers offer and manage. While it’s sometimes unavoidable for a health department to have staff entering or uploading information into a state based database, they most often find themselves also documenting and managing the day to day specifics for various program services within multiple EMR systems. Of course, there will always be those stand-alone systems. WIC is a perfect example, but that doesn’t necessarily mean these public health entities are forced to use multiple systems for the daily documentation, clinical management and patient care process.
To us, users of Ahlers EMR in a public health agency setting basically work with two types of public health programs: Clinical Based and Case Management. While these program types require a different method regarding day to day documentation and care management, which the customizable outlines and templates can EASILY accommodate, there are some similar needs that Ahlers EMR also handles without much effort on the provider’s part. Here are some examples of how the system accommodates the two major program types: Clinical Based Customized outlines/templates to cover any clinical visit situation Patient Contact and Lab Result Follow-up Logs Progress Monitors and Flowsheets Medication Logs Clinical Summary and Face Sheet Case Management Customized outlines/templates for assessment and plan encounters Program specific surveys and questionnaires Customized outlines/templates for follow up visits Progress Monitors and Flowsheets Care Summary and Face Sheet Growth Charts Ahlers EMR Solution, along with its customizable and modular design, can help provide agencies with an inexpensive opportunity to integrate most, if not all, of their clinical and case management programs into a single software solution. In the current public health arena where funding is often limited, making use of a skilled and proficient workforce is crucial for agency finances. Having programs like Family Planning, School Based Health, STD, Maternal Case Management, TB, CACCON, Child Health, Immunization and Home Visits in the same EMR offers a wide range of benefits. Eliminating the need for staff members to spend their time repeating data entry from system to system definitely can help contain these costs along with an increased level of efficiency and improved patient care are the most obvious. If you’re ready to see how Ahlers can help you with the integration of all or most of your programs, contact Gary Garcia, (800) 888-1836 ext. 133, today!