Certification Training Available to Qualified City of Chicago Medical Clinic Employees

Dec. 8, 2010 - PRLog -- With the evolution of the internet and faster processing speeds there are few industries today that do not rely on computers in their day to day work-flow.

That is unless you are not counting U.S. health care clinics.  Traditionally the slowest to accept change in any shape or form, close to 500,000 physicians in U.S. clinics and some smaller hospitals are still using paper medical records, while the rest of the civilized world has already adopted and implemented electronic medical records.

After two years of painstaking research by a consortium of health care professionals, hospital administrators, clinic managers and EMR vendors, it was clear that the implementation of an electronic medical record could not be successful without the creation of a new "certified position" either hired in or promoted from within the clinic itself, prior to the installation of the electronic application..

But where will this promotion come from?  Certainly not from the professional or clinical pool.  At their highest pay grade, the handling of medical records may be a step below their job classification.

There can be only one source within the medical clinic from which to promote a "Certified Medical Records Manager".  Lowest on the pay scale, the clerical staff spends more time managing the records, paper notes, appointments, charts and orders than any other staff member in the clinic.  All that work will become "electronic" very soon; laying the groundwork for a new job classification.

Today, there is no law that requires a medical clinic to convert to electronic methods of managing their patient records.  There is also no law that requires a doctor to wash his hands before seeing his next patient.  Really...there isn't!  It's just common sense and part of the evolution of civilized medicine.  The signals coming out of the health care bill and the adjacent rules and regulations committees all clearly point to the requirement of a mandatory electronic medical record.  However, the process is slow, giving some wise and ready clerical types an opportunity to be “certified” and ready when needed.

The majority of neighborhood and community clinics often employ less technical employees to manage the day to day work flow, maintain, update and store patient’s medical records.  So in lies the problem!  The fear of change has a little to do with it, and the costs for implementation of an electronic system can be less than the salary of a part-time employee. The greatest fear is management's worry that their employees may not be experienced enough to make the transition.  Training is expensive and so is hiring a certified medical records manager.

A solution has been developed in Chicago, led by Med-Tech Consulting and Medical Professional Solutions, two Chicago-based firms with a penchant for creating jobs and assisting less fortunate clinics in the transition process.

A new program, now available to qualified Chicago medical clinics meeting required criteria will assist and fund training and certification in Medical Records Management
for select clerical employees.

The certification program valued at over $6500 per student, includes a review of HIPAA regulations, updates on the progress of Meaningful Use guidelines, study materials and professional classroom training sessions.  If qualified, training will be fully funded by a community development program created to assist city businesses in improving their quality of performance and service to the community.

Successful graduates of the program will have the designation of CRST (Certified Records System Technician) or CRSO (Certified Records System Operator) and will be able to manage and train on any format of electronic medical records. The program is available to qualifying clerical employees of Chicago clinics prior to making the decision to transition from paper records to an electronic system.

If you or someone you know works in a community clinic within the City of Chicago, which has not yet made the transition from paper to electronic medical record, this is an opportunity to Survive the Evolution. Don't be left standing as the world makes an important change in technology.  

To see if you qualify, go to:
http://www.after-infotech.com/Remedy/enrollment/register/...

Or, call to arrange an appointment for your clinic manager to pre-qualify for funding. 1-773-767-1844.  Ask for the CRSO Training Assessment Department.

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About Medical Professional Solutions: Creator / developer of the curriculum for training clerical staff in medical clinics in proper use and management of electronic practice management software system and EMR. MPS focuses on the ease of transition from paper records management to an electronic work-flow.