Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX6426 Nursing Informatics Life Cycle Management

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Submission Date

Needs Assessment Meeting with Stakeholders

Community Hospital. In a needs assessment meeting, we had a group of key stakeholders to discuss what is lacking in our existing information systems. The purpose of today’s meeting was to review our outdated Meditech electronic health record (EHR) and create a strategy for moving from Meditech to an Epic system. Structured assessment of needs are proven to positively impact the successful implementation of an EHR as it allows everyone to have their priorities for the new system set in place (Raymond et al., 2025). The results from this meeting help us focus our project on patient-centered and evidence-based systems change..

Benefits and Challenges of Health Information System Change

Health Information Systems typically offer various advantages as well as challenges to organizations alone who implement them. While Riverside’s transition from Meditech to Epic will greatly enhance Riverside’s ability to better have medication safety alerting capability, reduce documentation errors and overall better care coordination, there are numerous other challenges at Riverside during the transition from Meditech to Epic such as staff resistance to change, high learning curves, intermittent workflow problems due to downtime during the transition period. Simkani et al. (2025) has identified some of the common barriers to EHR implementation as lack of communication, lack of clinician engagement in planning, and lack of adequate training. The stakeholders at Riverside are particularly worried about the impact of downtime on the changes in workflow with Epic. Well handled transition can help ensure a smooth transition and consequently better patient outcomes throughout the departments.

Current and Desired State of the Information System

Making changes to an organization requires an assessment of the current situation of an information system and what the expected level of performance should be from that same system. The stakeholders at Riverside Community Hospital stated they had the following issues with Meditech: Frequent system crashes, slow load times and inadequate medication alert capabilities. While basic charting and billing are possible through the current system, there is a feeling this is working well. Based on Trout et al. (2022) experience of hospitals where an advanced EHR system has been implemented, they will likely see significant long-term decreases in operational expenditure due to reductions in medication errors, redundant testing and the amount of manual time involved in documentation. The stakeholders can envision, if funding were not a constraint, an integrated Epic system with telehealth capabilities with real-time data-sharing and automated clinical decision support. If the gaps between the current level of performance and desired level of performance are known then the project can be kept aligned with both organizational priorities and the quality standards.

Assessing and Defining Risks: Patient Safety, Legal, and Fiscal Considerations

The first step towards preventing risk to the patient and a successful transfer of an information system is to identify and define the elements of risk of that information system. Numerous stakeholders have reported patient safety issues at Riverside Community Hospital that include missed critical laboratory alerts, not documenting allergies in the Meditech system and medication errors. The potential risks as a result of inadequate encryption of data, unsecured electronic devices and a lack of two factor authentication within the current system are Ethical and Legal risks. Therefore, to keep health information secure, strategies are needed to encrypt using virtual private networks (VPNs); to store data using cloud-based encrypted solutions; and to require all users of the Epic system to use multiple forms of identification. Abbasi and Smith. According to (2024), implementing robust cybersecurity measures in EHRs will help minimize the likelihood of breaking HIPAA regulations and safeguard patient information. In Riverside, it is estimated that the training cost of implementing Epic will be around $150,000, and a training time of one month would not be sufficient in fiscal or practical terms to implement Epic in a six-month period.

Information System User Best Practices

It is very important to establish the evidence-based best practices for the safe and effective use of all health care information systems. The Epic EHR supports the use of evidence-based standards (clinical decision support, real time alerts and standardized nursing documentation). By utilizing electronic health records (EHRs), mobile health (mHealth), and telehealth at Riverside, we will be able to provide quality, ethical and efficient patient care. In addition, these technologies will help to narrow down health care inequities, offering what amounts to virtual access to the community for those who lack transportation or live far from health care. Chandrakar. Mobile health (mHealth) and telehealth technologies offer greater access to health care and address inequities for vulnerable and rural populations (2024). By following evidence-based best practices Riverside Community Hospital will provide equitable, technology-based, and evidence-based care to all patients.

Technology Functionality: Software, Hardware, and Fiscal Impact

To establish a successful and sustainable (EHR) implementation project, it is essential to choose the right technology functionalities. At Riverside, the stakeholders have requested the Epic, with mobile access, voice documentation, clinical decision support features, and real-time interoperability between local providers’ offices. The hardware that needs upgrading includes workstations, bedside tablets, barcode medication scanning devices, and a secure hospital-wide wireless networking infrastructure. The estimated short term fiscal impact of implementing these technologies will be around $2 million dollar; whereas, the long term benefits can be seen through reduced medical errors and improved operational efficiency. As reported by Malhan et al. (2023), hospitals with advanced functions of EHRs can recoup their investments in three to five years due to greater operational efficiency. Organizations can make sound financial investments in sustainable and patient-centered technologies by evaluating the technical software and hardware requirements against the fiscal implications.

Communication Technology and Consumer Health Information Literacy

No matter who they are, it is crucial to evaluate technology to communicate with consumers to improve its understanding and use of healthcare information. At Riverside, stakeholder groups will know whether technology has enhanced patient health literacy as they review patient sign-on rates to their health information on the portal, the content’s educational value, and the risk of missed follow-up visits. At this time, the majority of Riverside’s patient education materials are at a 6th grade or higher level, which is difficult for many patients who have lower levels of literacy and for patients who don’t speak English. Shahid et al. (2022) found that low health literacy is directly linked to poorer health outcomes (such as greater risk of hospitalization) and less interactions with their health care providers. It is essential that technology that supports communication is suitable for patient’s language and literacy level to enhance communication with patients and to ensure equitable access to quality health care.

Workflow, Communication, and System Backup Planning

Today’s electronic health records (EHR) systems can provide a great deal of benefits in comparison to their predecessors, such as improving workflow and communication. Epic’s messaging feature and team notifications will facilitate smoother messaging and communication between departments at Riverside Community Hospital. Interoperable EHRs with local physician offices will result in improved continuity of care, decreased unnecessary tests, and increased safety for all patients. A sufficient backup plan should be put in place before going live; this should include paper-based downtime policies and procedures as well as alternative ways to communicate. According to Jo et al. (2024), a downtime and backups communication plan will greatly reduce patient safety risks caused by EHR downtime or disruption of the system. Continued training on procedures for downtime will encourage safe service delivery until Epic is up and running.

Data Capture, HIPAA Compliance, and Cybersecurity

The switch from the defunct Meditech system to Epic EHR is most likely to enhance data capture. Unlike Meditech, Epic offers real-time reporting of data trends and predictive analytics, offers population health monitoring, and can provide automated quality reporting. Epic also offers HIPAA compliant storage solutions, made possible by cloud storage, private virtual networks (VPNs), encrypted IP addresses, and two factor authentication, which will bring down the risks of HIPAA violations for all users of the system. There are fines ranging from $100 to $50,000 for individuals and fines over $1.9 million per year for organizations, as stated by Paraschiv et al. (2024). Providing multiple layers of security in EHR systems is the best way to prevent unauthorized access to EHRs and protect patient records. Continually enhancing data capture and security will further safeguard patients, staff, and Riverside Community Hospital from unnecessary legal action/costs.

Practice, Outcomes, and Digital Equity

It is critical to evaluate patient outcomes and practice outcomes to make sure that the investment in new technology is warranted. By implementing Epic at Riverside, medication safety will improve, there will be fewer preventable readmissions, chronic conditions will be better managed, and evidence-based clinical decision making will be made easier. To ensure equitable digital access, patients should be able to access tablet lending programs and free Wi-Fi, and multilingual and translated patient portals. Riverside’s investment in Epic will help address digital equity goals by funding technology for patient education, community engagement programs, telehealth infrastructure. Increasing the use of targeted methods to reduce digital health inequity will result in greater adoption of patient portals and better health for minorities or other under-served patients, according to Barker et al. (2026). By integrating the implementation of EHR with practice improvement goals and digital equity efforts, Riverside can build on its efforts to deliver high-quality, inclusive, and patient-centered care.

Conclusion

Under the guidance of the major findings from the Riverside Community Hospital’s (RCH) needs assessment meeting, each party involved now has a better understanding of how to confidently move forward in regard to progressing with their project. At the RCH needs assessment meeting, the urgent need for the RCH to replace the Meditech Electronic Health Record (EHR) with the Epic EHR was shown to be a means to provide patient safety. All components of the project pertaining to the needs assessment (funding, training, implementation etc) will be in line with our organization’s vision for safe, equitable, innovative and technology based delivery of healthcare. All parties agree on implementing the Epic EHR, which will further enable the collection and use of data; effectively communicate workflow; improve interoperability and give equal and equitable digital access to the different communities served by RCH and various departments. The needs assessment provides a firm foundation for all parties to work collaboratively to further RCH’s vision of creating a safer and more connected future than exists today.