: The project's specific purpose is to implement ambulatory electronic medical record (AEMR) in multiple rural primary- and specialist-care provider settings. The Rural Community Partnerships-EMR Implementation Project will improve overall patient and provider access to high-quality health care information. Key objectives will measure the impact of the health information technology implementation as it relates to clinical practice, organizational structure, and financial benefits relating to the hypotheses. Each of the above stated hypotheses is tied directly to overarching partnership goals, measurable objectives, and activities related to the implementation of AEMR at each of the participating institutions. The following hypotheses have been postulated for this project: ? 1. Rural AEMR implementation and integration with human factors will result in an increase in the efficiency of patient data verification versus chart pulls (objectives 2, 3, and 4). ? 2. Rural AEMR implementation will increase the numbers of patients seen for immunizations, wellness screening, and proactive acute and chronic condition management (objectives 6, 7, and 8). ? 3. Rural AEMR implementation will reduce the overall costs of transcription, expenditures on office supplies, costs related to filing expenses, and will reduce the number of lost charges (objectives 9, 10, 11, and 12). ? 4. Rural AEMR implementation in managed practice settings will increase additional primary and specialist care provider interest in managed practice services. ? 5. Rural AEMR implementation will improve technological skills and exposure of graduates transitioning from a post-secondary setting to the workforce as a result of AEMR integration into the curricula (objective 13). ? ?
