Kevin J. Lang, a speaker at the marcus evans National Healthcare CFO Summit Fall 2013, on optimizing a healthcare organization’s clinical and financial EHR System. Interview with: Kevin J. Lang, Executive VP, Finance and Administration/Chief Financial Officer, Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center

1. Interview with: Kevin J. Lang,
Executive VP, Finance and
Administration/Chief Financial
Officer, Loma Linda University
Adventist Health Sciences Center
“Electronic Health Record (EHR)
systems are so robust that healthcare
organizations have to develop processes
linked to the operational leaders
to continually refine them in order to
pull meaningful financial and clinical
data from them,” says Kevin J. Lang,
E x e c u t i v e V P , F i n a n c e a n d
Administration/Chief Financial Officer,
Loma Linda University Adventist Health
Sciences Center. However, EHR is the
first step to capture and evaluate
patient specific information for an
organization to achieve population
management, the value of which is
immeasurable, he goes on to say.
Lang is a speaker at the marcus evans
National Healthcare CFO Summit
Fall 2013, in Los Angeles, California,
October 20-22.
How can healthcare Chief Financial
Officers (CFOs) get more out of
their EHR systems?
The biggest challenge and opportunity
with EHRs today is the need to
continually refine them and be
intentional about how data is mined for
information as part of a metric driven
culture, to make the best decisions by
coordinating the staff data mining.
Secondly, the electronic medical record
must be configured to achieve a balance
of capturing information in such a way
that it does not hurt the productivity of
clinicians, physicians and nurses. For a
cost effective operation, their
participation in the workflow design is
essential.
How could EHRs be more efficient?
You have to work with clinicians to pre-
program an efficient use of information.
We thought we could do this in one or
two years, but it is taking us longer. We
have to continually think about how we
can maximize efficiency. Physicians do
not always record the exact time spent
with patients when they are charting, as
they often go back to health information
management late at night. But in order
to save time, money and make the best
financial decisions, we have to make
sure the record is complete.
As a CFO, what do you wish to
achieve with your EHR system?
I believe that the more you focus on
quality, the less expensive it will be. It
is about having the appropriate
information at the right time in order to
make it easier to make the right
decision. That will reduce the utilization
of services and make people more
productive. Whether it is the clinicians
or the coding people, I want our
organization to be as efficient as
possible in every single way. Without
i n f o r m a t i o n w e c a n n o t c o d e
appropriately or get bills out quickly.
We want to be able to coordinate care.
That was not possible on the old system
but we are now on one platform -
physicians, hospital and outpatient
services - so we can centralize these
functions. That opens so many different
opportunities.
What is the true potential of EHRs?
When every organization goes electronic
and starts sharing data, that is when we
can do population management. It is
the first step towards taking off as a
community or country, offering better
care and reducing costs. Physicians will
be able to know what tests patients
have already undergone and what
prescriptions they are on. As providers
of care we can begin to use the
information to promote wellness
initiatives so people are healthier. Many
people are on ten or more prescriptions
and even if they take their list in,
physicians have to ask many questions
until they figure everything out. That is
a waste of their time. Without electronic
records, how can they provide care?
Having the information in front of them
is invaluable, especially in acute care
when it is needed in even tighter
timeframes.
Hospitals have to be intentional about
what they are trying to accomplish with
EHRs and not just put data in for the
sake of doing so. They have to
measure, track and continue to improve
as part of a metric drive culture.
Hospitals
have to be
intentional
about what
they are
trying to
accomplish
Optimizing Your EHR System

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show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed industry thought leaders
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Summit includes presentations on revenue cycle management, the future of
healthcare, bundled payment models and ensuring efficiency through a clinical and
financial EHR system.
www.nhcfosummit.com
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