Has your organization leveraged the benefits of a computerized patient record?

Health care organizations have responded to the shift to capitated payments by reengineering and streamlining their operations. Most are planning for the automation of health care delivery through the Implementation of clinical information systems. The cornerstone of these systems is the computerized patient record (CPR), which it is believed will increase productivity, cut costs, and provide improved clinical outcomes information. The promise of the CPR is instantaneous access to a patient's information when needed, with historical and current clinical information, from any location. However, not all organizations have realized the value the CPR can provide to manage the demand for health services that ultimately will be necessary for their success. As health systems have identified benefits of an automated patient record, not all are related directly to cost containment; many have either a direct correlation to cost-savings or a risk avoidance that would have been costly to the organization if the alerts, warnings, or access to complete information had not been available. The proactive nature of these tools embedded in the CPR can be one of the greatest long-term benefits to the case manager.