ABSTRACT
A healthcare system has implemented a new EHR in a multi-hospital environment. The design, build, testing and implementation for this phased project was completed over two years and considered by the software vendor to be a very aggressive timeline. It becomes evident as the organization lifts itself out of the implementation phase that there are areas of workflow concerns and clinical documentation issues or defects that need to be addressed. Subject-matter experts representing all five hospitals, ambulatory care areas and emergency care centers, as needed, are invited to participate in Kaizen (the practice of continuous improvement) events to review the 10 most common workflows. The goal is to identify the areas for improvement and create a new workflow that would maximize efficiency and improve patient safety and outcomes. This case study will reflect a Kaizen to evaluate the STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction) patient that presents at a hospital or emergency care center that does not have a cardiac cath lab.
