Cygnus creates wood and metal computer workstation solutions with a focus on the healthcare industry. Wall mounted computer desks, charting stations, articulating arms and medication cabinets are some of our largest sellers. Also visit our Social Media page and connect with us. http://www.cygnusinc.net/get_social_with_cygnus.html
Friday, April 1, 2011
Tips for Effective EMR Implementation
From Health & Medical News (Republished from the CanadianEMR Newsletter March 9, 2011)
Once you have selected an EMR, signed your contract with the vendor, applied for funding according to provincial protocols (if you qualify), and scheduled a date to implement the system, the real hard work begins. Implementation can be a smooth and streamlined process if you are well prepared or it can be disruptive and difficult. Preparation and attention to detail are the keys to success. The following are some tips to consider when implementing your EMR that should help you through the process:
Develop a six-month timeline until you go live and stick to it.
Communication is the key to success within your practice amongst physicians and staff.
Make sure you clearly understand your data transfer processes. These will vary depending on whether you are converting from paper to an EMR or transitioning from one EMR to another. Ensure that your vendor is well versed in these processes and ask for them to be explained to you.
Physician buy-in is CRITICAL. This is an all or none situation. If physicians are not fully bought into the process prior to implementation, make sure you resolve any issues before the disruption of implementation begins.
Staff buy-in is also critical, particularly if there will be a change of workflow and job functions.
Recognize that there is significant variation in computer skills of staff and physicians and understand how you are going to improve skills for those individuals.
Identify who is going to provide technical support for your practice. Is this an internal skill set or do you need someone in your local community?
Set up custom lists for meds, referrals, templates, and diagnostic codes.
Understand how to set up common workflows in your EMR, e.g. front office (registration & check-in, halls), patient ready, encounter finished, and scanning and document management.
Identify user groups in your community (if there are any).
Plan implementation around a slow time of year.
Don’t go live on a Monday.
Appoint “Super Users” and start their training well in advance of go-live date.
Reduce physician schedules by 50% for the first 2 weeks and then by +/- 25% for the next 4–8 weeks.
WEYMOUTH, MA – Top of mind for healthcare organizations aiming to achieve meaningful use is quality reporting, according to a new survey from healthcare consulting firm Beacon Partners.
Beacon Partners announced the results of its ARRA Preparedness and Sustainability study as the first deadline of July 2011 approaches for healthcare organizations to achieve meaningful use in order to obtain maximum ARRA incentive money.
"Right now there is a lot of emphasis on getting as much ARRA incentive money as possible," said Ralph P. Fargnoli, Jr., president and CEO of Beacon Partners. "Healthcare organizations are under a lot of pressure as such, but what about down the road when that money is no longer a factor? The results of this study provide a good glimpse as to how well healthcare organizations are preparing for the long-term sustainability of their investments after the ARRA incentive dollars are gone."
Forty-five percent of respondents have not applied for any federal or local grants, which is a viable way in which to ignite the process of initiating Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) to attain meaningful use.
In a step towards sustaining their overall IT investment, the majority of healthcare organizations have built IT expenditures into their financial plans for the coming years to help support patient care, clinical quality and safety as part of their annual spending, tactical planning and strategic multi-year plans.
Most healthcare organizations (more than 80 percent) will either maintain or increase their IT investments if they are awarded the meaningful use incentive payments.
Fifteen percent of respondents have operational HIEs. Nearly 60 percent of the respondents have HIE plans in development and more than 20 percent are in the pre-planning stages.
More than 40 percent of respondents have plans to enhance their physician and patient portals, which are crucial to the development of a sound and secure infrastructure at any healthcare organization.
In their efforts to achieve meaningful use, quality reporting is the biggest concern among 73 percent of respondents.
"In those efforts to achieve meaningful use, quality reporting is a major concern," notes the Beacon report. "Lack of quality reporting is largely due to the fact that the efforts required to transform current workflow into an EHR will require significant technology and human resources."
As you probably have noticed already we moved some things around on the website. Actually, the only thing that really changed is "how" you get to specific pages. In order to make room for our ever-expanding product line, we needed to make it easy for people to get to the information.
We also added a "series" section where you can look at products separated into their collection name. We added two specific series "The GlenArbor" and "The HortonBay", two very distinct product lines of wall mounted computer cabinetry that offer modern styling in wood and metal.
We will be developing these series with various size computer cabinets and medication stations. To keep up with new product releases please check sign up for our monthly newsletter or become a fan on Facebook.
New clamshell door offers smaller in-use footprint.
Using Cygnus' own Center Point Swing (CPS) technology, the doors nest inside the cabinet. The door design offers a split door that, when opened, has less than 5" of the door extended outside the cabinet.
Even when the doors are opened the contents of the upper compartments can be easily accessed.
Take a minute to view the short video about this great new design.
Cygnus takes home the prize for its innovative wall mounted computer workstation.
Cygnus product development lead, Shawn Peterson and President, Robert Waugh display the award recently received for Most Innovative Product by the Healthcare Facilities Symposium.
The two are standing in front of the product that won the award, the BV2842 EMR computer workstations. More information on the BV2842 product page.
The highly esteemed competition honors design teams and individuals who have made a profound contribution to the healthcare design industry. In addition it recognizes the best and most innovative new products exhibited at the Symposium. FacilityCare Magazine in association with the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo sponsors the Awards.
New docking solution for Panasonic to be released at HIMSS09 in Chicago
The hot new product in the healthcare industry is the new Panasonic H1. The unit is fully sealed, has hot-swappable batteries and has some great ergonomic features not seen on other tablets.
Our new wall mounted docking station is in production and ready to be unveiled at the HIMSS conference in Chicago in just a few weeks. In the meantime, check out our current wall mounted tablet docking cabinets.
The actual mount is VESA 75 and 100 compatible, has 3 USB ports, power, RJ45/ethernet port, serial and VGA ports.
Check out the video to see a drop test of this extremely durable product.
Cygnus has developed a new cabinet which allows us to bring you a EHR Workstation that looks and feels more like furniture while maintaining the same level of security and performance.
Our new process allows us to offer a greater range of designs and laminate choices.
We're currently working on expanding the web page for details on the available design but for more information check out the page of our 28" EHR Workstation.
The official release date is set for April 4th at the HIMSS conference in Chicago. Visit us at booth 4058.
I've posted several links in the recent past in regards to our new network lock for our EMR workstations.
If you are attending HIMSS09 in Chicago, you are invited to view a LIVE demonstration of our network lock system featuring full audit trail and remote administration. Our booth is #4058.
Cygnus is proud to offer the most advanced locking system in the industry. The NetLock allows caregivers to access the cabinets while utilizing their existing prox cards. No keys to carry or codes to memorize. Get more information on our website. View a video of the NetLock in action HERE.
Using Cygnus' own 
