5 Questions with: Dr. Afua Aning of My Just Checking In
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (December 21, 2020) - Medical data breaches have made headlines lately. And as more home health patients demand telehealth options, a solid IT provider is a must to not only help protect your company but also provide the bandwidth for all those virtual check-ups. But one company is tackling both the challenge of IT provision and care in the home. My Just Checking In, founded by Afua Aning, MD, combines the IT services provider need with the care customers want.
The name, said Aning, came from how providers check in on patients similar to how IT providers check in on patients. The one on one support the company provides also helped drive the naming.
Aning's family immigrated to the United States from Ghana when she was just a child. “Being from Africa and seeing my parents go through the transition of integrating into a new country has really given me the determination and drive to succeed,” she said. She counts as her inspirations Steve Jobs and Elon Musk.
HomeCare recently sat down with Aning to learn more about her unique company model.
Why did you decide to combine IT services and homecare?
When I was studying for my board examination, I worked part-time as a caregiver. I realized the importance of this role and how there is a need for caregivers with today's huge baby boomer generation. However, I had an opportunity to get into the IT field based upon my medical education. With today's aging society and technological advancement there is increase need for information technology and medical background, but I still wanted to help serve the growing homecare market.
How important is a solid IT provider to maintaining compliance?
Compliance is important because in today's increasing technological environment, health care providers, payers and users need to stay abreast of the latest technology and systems. New government mandates require the IT professional to be knowledgeable about compliance as well as be capable, flexible and reliable. Our IT team brings all these capabilities to our clients; therefore, providing them peace of mind.
For IT, who is your target customer?
Our target customers range from small, medium and large size hospitals to physician practices. Our services cover most areas of clinical care, including emergency department, anesthesia and ambulatory practice.
How do you see the come and go model of care helping seniors/their families? What do clients usually request in that short block of time?
Even from just a year ago, Covid-19 has changed how seniors are interacting with medical providers through information technology. People that previously would only go to their doctor are now seeing their doctors online. This increases the need for doctors to be able to see clients online, give lab results and do consultations that previously would not have been possible. Payers, such as Medicare, have also changed to allow more compensation for internet visits. In addition, more families would rather have their loved ones stay at home instead of nursing homes because of Covid-19. There has been increased need for caregivers nationwide. Usually, clients request caregivers to run daily errands, prepare meals, provide companionship, etc.
How did 2020 change the way you do business?
The business launched in 2018, but it really started to take off in 2020. However, we have extensive years of previous experience. The benefit of being a new company is that we do not have any legacy software and legacy personnel that can increase baseline pricing or make it difficult for us to go into smaller areas that larger employers would ignore usually. In fact, 2020 makes us even more capable because of the large number of personnel working from home or looking for a business that uses their present technological knowledge, but is not located on the coast.
Article written by: https://www.homecaremag.com/home
Virtual EHR go-live due to COVID-19 pandemic and tips on being successful
Imagine you're getting ready for a trip — without a map or GPS, it is nearly impossible to go far. The same scenario holds with EHR (electronic health records) use; if you don't have visibility into your IT infrastructure, you're not going to get far. The key is to eliminate inefficiencies, achieve financial security, and deliver optimal patient care. The challenges of COVID 19 throws in a new dynamic. Many hospital systems have adopted exceptional technology and virtual engagement tools that have continually pushed boundaries and exposed opportunities. Many hospital systems have had virtual go live engagements whereby utilizing remote support. Others have opted for hybrid training with the benefit of in-person and virtual training.
Healthcare systems can take a few steps to support a smooth electronic health records implementation experience to offset some stresses.
Data Migration-Migration of Patient Data from Current EHR to a New One
It can be pretty frustrating switching to a new EHR, and data migration can be one of the added stresses. The transfer of data from a previous EHR to the current one can often be disruptive and costly when poorly executed. Healthcare organizations need to think thoroughly about this process and give ample time to transfer previous data to a new system. Streamlined data migration will permit the healthcare organization to be more efficient and well organized; thereby, allowing staff to navigate patient charts easily, making data readily available.
Those days of navigating multiple EHR systems to find patient information are gone.
Physician Personalization- Customization of Note Templates and Shortcuts
Personalization is a building block to a successful implementation. It allows providers to create "personalized" specific templates. Personalization Labs usually consists of providers learning how to use Epic SmartPhrases, Macros, templates, order sets, and preference lists to streamline order and note entry. Hospital systems must adopt pre and post-go-live personalization sessions. This will decrease provider burnout, reduce stress, and improve efficiency.
Physician Champions- Pre- and Post-Go-Live Training
Physician champions act as departmental leaders during EHR implementation. They usually provide added value to the organization by teaching staff and act as liaisons. Frequently, they create specialty-specific templates and workflows documents for their divisions. Champions build a repository of tools for the most common EHR issues, thereby allowing providers to focus on fine-tuning their customized clinical documents to meet practice-specific needs. Healthcare organizations could benefit from selecting strong end-users from each department and utilize them in their implementation efforts. It can mitigate the potential loss of productivity and efficiency during the EHR transition.
Finally, hospital systems stand to benefit from third-party EHR consulting firms. These companies frequently bring added value to healthcare implementation efforts. With their expertise and knowledge transfer, healthcare organizations can build proficiency and efficiency in their EHR journey.
My Just Checking In has over 20 years of expertise and knowledge in assisting healthcare organizations to improve their efficiency and profitability. Our team can help transform your EHR implementation from a source of frustration to a successful and productive tool. Our goal is to enhance your patient care experience and improve your revenue cycle management.
References
Gillespine, E (2020, July 23). Ensuring a smooth "Go-Live" process in the COVID-19 era. Physicians Practice. https://www.physicianspractice.com/view/ensuring-a-smooth-go-live-process-in-the-covid-19-era.
Green, J (2019, May 7). Three Common Barriers to HER Implementation and How to Avoid Them. Modernizing Medicine. https://www.modmed.com/blog/ehr-implementation-challenges/
Cartwright, K (2020, July 21). Do You Really Want to Switch EHRs? Medicaladvantage.com. https://www.medicaladvantage.com/blog/switch-ehrs/
Siwicki, B (2020, May 11). First-ever Cerner ‘virtual go-live’ helps one hospital roll out EHR during a pandemic. Healthcare IT News. https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/first-ever-cerner-virtual-go-live-helps-one-hospital-roll-out-...
