title: The road to electronic health records is paved with operations.
abstract: The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Health System seeks to align its purpose of "healing humankind" with its approaches for people and performance management. These approaches include lean process improvements initiatives, sustained by efforts to impact daily team member work flows. The electronic health record (EHR) serves as a powerful supportive instrument in improving processes and sustaining performance. For UCLA, the secret to EHR effectiveness lies in creating win-win situations, where organizational objectives are achieved and team member work flows also are improved. Recent UCLA initiatives with medication bar-coding and a stroke telemedicine network highlight such opportunities. Carried out on a national level, such efforts can significantly affect healthcare in the United States. The US Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009's EHR provisions provide a national impetus for broad improvements in healthcare.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Health System, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. arubin@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Amir Dan
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Virginia A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: McFerran
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D015141:Los Angeles; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States