Electronic Medical Records Software in a Nursing Home Essays

Electronic Medical Records Software in a Nursing Home Essays Electronic Medical Records Software in a Nursing Home Paper Electronic Medical Records Software in a Nursing Home Paper St. John Elderly Homes is a newly established nursing home for the elderly just outside the metro of New Jersey. It was established last 2007 with a capacity of fifty patients. Presently, it houses forty eight elderly, thirty males and eighteen females, with three in-house doctors, a head nurse, five nurses, six caregivers and support utility and administrative staff of five. Because of the number of their patients and continuous lab testing and medications, the head nurse of the St. John, Ms. Lenny Jose, was asked to purchase Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software. St. John Elderly Homes chose to acquire Advance Data Systems (ADS) Corporation’s MedicsDocAssistant EMR. Â  It was chosen against other EMR because of its features applicable and helpful to the elderly homes’ settings and its considerable cost (the package of the technology was not disclosed by Ms. Jose as part of their contract with ADS). According to Mr. Michael Brown, head of the I.T. department and the over-all head on the recent implementation of the software, one of the features of ADS’ EMR is its accessibility to patients. The patients can fill-up the information needed in advance prior to their visit or acceptance to the nursing home. The nurses and caregivers update the information on the EMR every now and then. This helps the doctors and nurses to track the patients’ development and health status. The supplier of the EMR software has an in house technician, working closely with Mr. Brown, updates its version and patches. There will be no more extra charge on the part of St. John every time the technician updates the software. Because St. John was a nursing home and has specific needs and details on their EMR, their in-house physicians usually coordinate with the supplier and their technician on how to improve the software. The consistent and continuous communications between Mr. Brown, St. John’s in-house physician and the vendor’s technician is very productive and efficient that it produces much needed improvements on the EMR. It is the administrative staff of St. John that updates and put entries coming from outside organizations. ADS’ EMR has thousands of templates for easy and fast entry of data. There are already glossaries of thousand of medical terms, medicines and the ability to recognize handwritten notes included in the EMR, which is of a great help for their administrative staff. According to ADS’ website, MedicsDocAssistant have the following key features: the technology to enter handwritten notes in the software; it has ready-made templates for easy commands and faster transactions; and it has different security level for various accesses to the program (Advance Data System Corporation, 2008). Ms Jose and Mr. Brown said in the interview that they are contented on the features and services that ADS’ EMR offers. Over-all, they said that the newly acquired EMR was of great help for them and for their patients. Reference: Advance Data System Corporation. 2008. Accessed last March 29 2009, from adsc.com/. L. Jose, personal interview, March 28, 2008.

A Teachers Basic Guide to Making a Referral

A Teachers Basic Guide to Making a Referral A referral is a process or steps a teacher takes to get extra assistance for a student that they work directly with on a regular basis. In most schools, there are three distinct types of referrals. Those include referrals for disciplinary issues, referrals for special education evaluations, and referrals to receive counseling services.   A referral is completed when a teacher believes that a student needs some intervention to help them overcome obstacles that may be preventing them from being successful. All referral situations are dictated by the behavior and/or actions of the student. Teachers need professional development and training to recognize specific signs that would indicate when a student may have an issue that requires a referral. Prevention training is more appropriate for discipline referrals, but recognition training would be beneficial for referrals associated with special education or counseling.   Each type of referral has distinct steps that a teacher must follow according to school policy. With the exception of a counseling referral, a teacher must establish that they have attempted to improve the issue before making a referral. Teachers should document any steps that they have taken to help a student improve. Documentation helps establish a pattern which ultimately justifies the need for a referral. It may also help those involved with the referral process in establishing a plan to help the student grow. This process can take a lot of time and extra effort on the teachers part. Ultimately, the teacher must prove that they have exhausted all of their individual resources in most cases before making a referral. Referral for Discipline Purposes A discipline referral is a form a teacher or other school personnel writes up when they want the principal or school disciplinarian to deal with a student issue. A referral typically means that the issue is a serious issue, or it is an issue in which the teacher has tried to handle on without any success. Key Questions to Ask Before Making a Disciplinary Referral Is this a serious issue (i.e. fight, drugs, alcohol) or potential threat to other students that requires immediate attention by an administrator?If this is a minor issue, what steps have I taken to handle the issue myself?Have I contacted the students parents and involved them in this process?Have I documented the steps that I have taken in an attempt to correct this issue? Referral for a Special Education Evaluation A special education referral is a request for a student to be evaluated to determine whether the student is eligible to receive special education services that may include areas such as speech language services, learning assistance, and occupational therapy.  The referral is typically a written request by either the students parent or their teacher. If the teacher is completing the referral, he or she will also attach evidence and samples of work to show why they believe the student needs to be evaluated. Key Questions to Ask Before Making a Special Education Referral What are the exact issues that the student has that lead me to believe that special education services are appropriate?What evidence or artifacts can I produce that supports my belief?What documented steps of intervention have I taken to try to help the student improve before making a referral?Have I discussed my concerns with the childs parents also gaining insight into the childs history? Referral for Counseling Services A counseling referral can be made for a student for any number of legitimate concerns. Some common reasons include: A student is going through a traumatic family issue (i.e. divorce, death in the family).A student exhibits signs of depression and/or withdrawal.A students grades suddenly drop or there is a drastic change in behavior.  A student cries often, gets sick daily, or expresses anger/frustration regularly.A student who has difficulty functioning in the classroom (i.e. behavior issues, will not do work, skips school often, extreme aggressiveness).