Mercy Medical Center has determined that within 3 years, the paper-based health record it currently uses will be replaced with an electronic medical record. You are a member of a multidisciplinary committee that will evaluate and select the EMR. The chief medical officer prefers to have a vendor install an EMR that allows for some tailoring to its institutional needs; however, not everyone in the committee is in agreement with this desire. You have been tasked to examine the HIM and legal aspects of the vendor selection and EMR implementation and report back to the committee.
1)What quality (consider QM, RM, and UM) issues should you raise to the committee about HIM barriers and problems to the individualizing and implementing an EMR including specialization by function business and/or clinical areas?
2)Discuss what legal issues should be addressed with the committee and hospital in the evaluation and selection process from the HIM perspective? Include any federal or state legislative or regulatory guidance that would be instrumental in the topics you presented to garner support from the team.