Workflow Analysis

Healthcare Informatics

Wilson College

Workflow Analysis

When it comes to making sure that modern technological advances, like an Electronic

Medical Record (EMR) framework, will help its users the best, workflow analysis is

essential. The following phases have been established for workflow analysis and are essential

to putting an EMR or other technology into use based on research by Staras et al. (2021) and

these include:

1. Interact with all pertinent parties, such as patients, organizational workers, IT staff,

and healthcare practitioners. To comprehend the present process and pinpoint areas

for change, their opinion is essential.

2. Capture the current workflow procedures by producing thorough schematics or

process schematics. This entails keeping track of and documenting the flow of duties,

exchanges of information, and encounters related to patient care.

staff comments, bottlenecks, error frequency, and job completion times. This may be

accomplished by surveys, interviews, and direct observation.

4. Examine the gathered data to find places where the present process is not meeting the

demands of patients and users, as well as any pain spots or inconsistencies.

5. Establish specific goals for the use of the latest advances in technology, such as

cutting down on paperwork time, boosting staff happiness, optimizing information

precision, and optimizing the safety of patients.

6. Create a new process that uses the new technology. Make sure it corresponds with the

established goals and tackles the issues that have been identified. To make sure the

new workflow satisfies their needs, engage stakeholders in the implementation.

7. Test the freshly developed technology and procedure in a controlled setting with

pilots. Get user input and then implement the required changes in light of their

observations.

8. All users should get thorough instruction on the new technology and procedure

thereby guaranteeing that the users are secure with and skilled in utilizing the new

system.

9. Deploy freshly developed workflows and technologies across the enterprise. To

guarantee a seamless transition and quickly resolve any problems, keep an open mind

on the installation.

10. Continue to monitor and assess the new workflow. To increase efficacy and

efficiency, gather user input while implementing incremental changes.

However, completing workflow analysis improves the work environment and/or the

patient outcome by improving the work environment and enhancing client outcomes and

experiences.
Improves work environment and enhances patient care outcomes and experiences by:

1. Simplified processes save time and eliminate duplication, enabling medical

professionals to concentrate more on patient care (Rhayha & Alaoui, 2024).

2. Eliminating pointless chores and problems, thereby boosting employee productivity

and engagement (Rhayha & Alaoui, 2024).

3. Inaccuracies can be eliminated and general safety can be increased by recognizing and

addressing workflow errors (Rhayha & Alaoui, 2024).

4. Improved healthcare coordination results from a carefully constructed workflow that

guarantees patient data is easily available and appropriately recorded (Rhayha &

Alaoui, 2024)

5. Effective measures are made possible by effective processes, which shorten the

waiting period and enhance patient outcomes (Rhayha & Alaoui, 2024).

6. Waiting periods decrease and the general patient experience is improved by

streamlined procedures (Rhayha & Alaoui, 2024)

Therefore, healthcare companies can guarantee that new technologies are successfully

incorporated into current processes, improving work conditions and patient outcomes, by

carrying out in-depth workflow assessments.

The integration and analysis of information obtained from Social Determinants of

Health (SDOH) and Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) may significantly enhance

community health outcomes and public health operations. Nonetheless, the following actions

have been noted for leveraging EMR data to enhance community health based on the research

by He et al. (2023) to include:

a. Determine important health markers: Generate information on critical health markers

from the EMR, such as ongoing disease incidence vaccination coverage, and
 rehospitalization statistics. This information gives a quick overview of the overall

wellness of the community.

b. Examine the SDOH data: Analyze SDOH data, which covers things like housing,

access to healthcare, education, and socioeconomic standing. Knowing these factors

aids in determining the underlying reasons for health inequalities.

c. Chart health inequalities: Map community health inequalities using Geographic

Information Systems (GIS). This graphic depiction aids in locating regions where

illness frequency is higher or lower medical service access.

d. Incorporate stakeholders: Communicate findings with community figures, public

health groups, and regional health resource centers. Their perspectives are essential

for comprehending the interests and demands of the community.

e. Create focused interventions: Create targeted approaches to deal with certain health

conditions as determined by the findings of the evaluation. For instance, establish

diabetes prevention and educational initiatives in a community if evidence indicates

that diabetes is prevalent there.

f. Observe and assess: Use EMR data for continual evaluation of the therapies' effects.

Assess the programs' efficacy and make the required modifications to enhance results.

Steps to Improving Access to Preventive Care

However, the identified step-by-step approach to improving access to preventive care

by Schroeder et al. (2024) includes:

a. Data extraction: Gather information on preventative care services, including yearly

physicals, cancer screenings, and vaccinations, from the electronic medical record.

b. SDOH analysis: Examine SDOH data to find obstacles to receiving preventive

treatment, which could include a lack of wellness understanding, a dearth of mobility,

or low earnings.
 c. Community mapping: Integrate SDOH data to determine regions with elevated risk

and use GIS to visualize regions with a low prevalence of preventative usage.

Engagement of stakeholders: Talk about the results and create plans to increase access

with neighborhood leaders, health resource groups, and medical professionals.

d. Intervention development: Put into practice focused actions, like neighborhood

wellness initiatives, mobile healthcare medical centers, and transportation amenities

for medical institutions.

e. Monitoring and assessment: Keep an eye on the use of preventative medical services

and assess how the measures implemented are affecting the community.

Benefits of Using EMR and SDOH Data

According to Javaid et al. (2024), accrued benefits of using EMR and SDOH data

include:

a. Well-informed decision-making: Public health institutions may efficiently oversee

resources while executing well-informed decisions by using insights driven by data.

b. Focused interventions: By recognizing high-risk regions and demographics, focused

interventions that cater to certain medical requirements may be created.

c. Health improvement and equality: Reducing health inequalities and promoting health

equality within the neighborhood are two benefits of addressing SDOH.

d. Improved cooperation: Involving stakeholders promotes cooperation and guarantees

that interventions are suitable for the given culture and setting.

Public health programs may improve population health and attain improved medical

outcomes more successfully by utilizing EMR and SDOH data.

He, Z., Pfaff, E., Guo, S. J., Guo, Y., Wu, Y., Tao, C., Stiglic, G., & Bian, J. (2023). Enriching

Real-worldData with Social Determinants of Health for health outcomes and health

equity: Successes, challenges, and opportunities. Yearbook of Medical Informatics,

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Javaid, M., Haleem, A., & Singh, R. P. (2024). Health informatics to enhance the healthcare

industry's culture: An extensive analysis of its features, contributions, applications,

and limitations. Informatics and Health, 1(2), 123-148.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoh.2024.05.001

Rhayha, R., & Alaoui I. A. (2024). Development and validation of an instrument to evaluate

the perspective of using the electronic health record in a hospital setting. BMC

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Schroeder, T., Ozieh, M. N., Thorgerson, A., Williams, J. S., Walker, R. J., & Egede, L. E.

(2024). Social risk factor domains and preventive care services in US adults. JAMA

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