1. What is eRecord?
2. Why are we changing our Practice Management System?
3. Why are we implementing a system wide EHR solution?
4. Who owns this project and who's working on it?
5. Where will eRecord be implemented?
6. When will I be able to start using eRecord?
7. How will we be trained on these new systems and who will be trained?
8. How am I going to have time to enter all the old data (problem lists, meds, and immunizations) into the EHR?
9. What happens if there is a virus/power failure/loss and I can't access the system? What is the disaster recovery plan?
10. What advantages will electronic prescribing provide?
11. Who can I call if I have any questions about eRecord?
12. Is the new eRecord Practice Management System easier to use than what we currently have?
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Answers
Answer #1 - What is eRecord?
eRecord is the name of Novant Medical Group’s new integrated Practice Management and Electronic Health Record Systems. These two separate systems will work together to deliver a remarkable patient experience. These integrated systems are being developed by NMG’s eRecord Project Team, in partnership with Allscripts Health Solutions™. Once completed, this system will handle patient scheduling, insurance and payment processing, billing, collections, electronic prescribing, and a highly advanced electronic health record system. This EHR will be second-to-none and will ensure that we provide the highest standard of care to our patients. 
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Answer #2 - Why are we changing our Practice Management System?
NMG has more than 220 practice locations and we are still growing. In order to improve the quality of our patient scheduling, billing and payor management systems, and to keep pace with our growth, we are looking to eRecord as our standard. Currently we have more than eight different practice management systems in use within NMG, with Signature™ and Medical Manager™ being the two most widely used systems. These two systems have served us well, but our growth necessitates an upgrade. By standardizing onto one platform, we will be able to enhance the level of service to our patients and provide the kind of back office infrastructure required to support a group of our size.
Answer #3 - Why are we implementing a system wide EHR solution?
By implementing an EHR that reaches across the organization, we create one chart to reflect the medical history for each patient regardless of which NMG practice they visit. This creates a seamless but secure method of communicating among the different physicians that care for a particular patient.
Answer #4 - Who owns this project and who’s working on it?
eRecord is a project of Novant Medical Group, and the executive sponsor is Dr. A.J. Patefield, EVP of Novant Medical Group. The project is a collaborative effort of more than 90 professionals, 30 of which are working full-time on the project. Equally as important to the project are the combined efforts of the NMG clinicians and clinic subject matter experts (SME). The project’s success will be shaped by constant input from standing committees comprised of more than 40 physicians from Novant Medical Group who are providing critical input and direction. Representatives from NMG Finance/Central Billing Office and Novant Information Technology all bring their expertise to the project. Additionally, we welcome input from everyone. The success of eRecord depends on the collaborative efforts of clinicians, staff, and administrators from each practice.
Answer #5 - Where will eRecord be implemented?
The breadth of the eRecord installation makes this an enormous project. Eventually, eRecord will be implemented at every Novant Medical Group practice. Our NMG hospitalists will also use eRecord in the acute setting, initially to capture hospital visit charges electronically, and helping to provide a continuity of care for our patients between the ambulatory setting and the inpatient world.
Answer #6 - When will I be able to start using eRecord?
eRecord will be implemented in phases beginning in June of 2008. It will take time, but every NMG practice will eventually make use of eRecord. Our initial go-live will target approximately 100 providers in six different practices within NMG. Then, beginning in late summer of 2008, we expect the continued rollout of eRecord to begin. We expect that every practice will have the new system within 24 months after go-live (early 2010).
Answer #7 - How will we be trained on these new systems? And who will be trained?
NMG is committed to providing extensive training for both the Practice Management System and the Electronic Health Record portions of eRecord. Our rollout assumes that every user will be thoroughly trained by utilizing a combination of training methods including videos, computer based training, classroom training, and for clinical users, one-on-one or shoulder-to-shoulder training. We have a dedicated full-time team on the eRecord project that are committed to making every user comfortable and efficient in the use of the eRecord tools. We also understand that there may be concerns about computer proficiency, the time it may take to learn the new system, patient throughput, etc. NMG has contracted with Abreon educational solutions, the proven leader in developing and delivering training programs for All scripts users.
Answer #8 - How am I going to have time to enter all the old data (problem lists, meds, and immunizations) into the EHR? Our readiness plan for each practice will involve a strategy to populate important data from the paper chart. This will include the medication list, the allergy list, the immunization record, and the problem lists. In addition to this, we plan to scan the paper chart into eRecord to allow for more efficient chart retrieval and document review.
Answer #9 - What happens if there is a virus/power failure/loss or connectivity due to maintenance?
Addressing attacks proactively with virus protection strategy by maintaining patches on a monthly basis and daily virus definition pushes will help to protect the Novant Network from intruders. SSA has also made changes to the Novant Firewall to increase this protection. The eRecord project team is working with Allscripts to determine a downtime solution that would provide data locally at the clinic in the event the system is down for maintenance or suffers any other type of interruption.
Answer #10 - What advantages will electronic prescribing provide?
Electronic prescribing within eRecord is very efficient. When a medication is electronically prescribed, the prescription is electronically sent to the patient’s pharmacist, the prescription is automatically documented on the office note, and the medication list is updated automatically. Additionally, safety features within the system will assist clinicians by automatically checking for drug allergies and drug-to-drug interactions.
Answer #11- Who can I call if I have any questions about eRecord?
We welcome your questions about eRecord! Feel free to contact us by sending an email to eRecord@novanthealth.org and we will see that the appropriate team member contacts you to address your concerns. Providers having questions may contact Dr. Chris Madden, Medical Director of Clinical Information Systems, and the physician lead on this project. Dr. Madden may be reached by email at camadden@novanthealth.org or by phone at 336-277-2431.
Answer #12 - Is the new eRecord Practice Management System easier to use than what we currently have?
We believe the new practice management system offers a number of enhancements over our current systems, and we’re pleased to report that ease of use is chief among those enhancements. The PMS system is highly intuitive and utilizes the Microsoft Windows™ format for a very familiar look and feel. That familiarity, combined with the extensive training which will be provided, leads to our expectation that the practice staff who use the system will be substantially functional by the end of the first day of using it.
