Automation Filling in the Gaps of the EHR, per Cindy Gaines of Lumeon

Cindy Gaines, MSN, RN, explained to Managed Healthcare Executive that automation is filling in the gaps electronic health records (EHRs) are not able to meet and how these gaps are affecting staff, increased costs, workflows and more.

Gaines shared EHRs work well for the way they were created to, through some processes such as documenting a patient's health information "at that point in time," for more appropriate billing practices and much more.

"Companies have spent millions implementing their EHRs," Gaines said. "But it's not going to meet all your needs. It's going to meet (particular) needs."

What automation is doing is simplifying workflows and working with the EHRs.

"What we're doing is actually looking at 'what are the activities that the team is doing, based on the care of the patients that we can automate?' And we're driving that information back into the EHR," Gaines said. "So (automation is) actually making it easier for them to gather the right data, the appropriate data, and then take action with the staff or with the patient."