Stories from the Front Lines: The Journey to Meaningful Use

WIREC Makes EHR Transition ‘Minimally Invasive’:
Office Administrator Michelle Mathiesen

Michelle Mathiesen is the office administrator for the Kitsap Medical Group in Kitsap, WA. Prior to her role as a practice office administrator, Michelle had nursing and back office experience. So when she was given the responsibility of moving the practice’s EHR forward, she was wary. “I am technically challenged to begin with,” Michelle confided. But she found herself having to fill the shoes of the former administrator’s work on the EHR. Michelle said, “The system had already been negotiated and the majority of the prep work had been done with the previous administrator. I was coming in to the project right in the middle.”

The process was daunting. “Although my predecessor had tried to provide me with as many pointers as she could, I still struggled mightily. This was a whole new ball game. I had no idea what to do, where to start, what kind of questions to ask... Between March and July, I had gotten nowhere.”

“Then I received an email about WIREC and decided to look in to it. What I read was interesting. Since I had no "IT department", I had no real support.

“The help offered by WIREC sounded like it could be useful.

“And, as the majority of our patient base is Medicare/Medicaid, the cost was right up my alley—free.

"I filled out the paperwork and met the WIREC consultant on July 23. She instantly set me at ease. We spent two and a half hours reviewing my situation. From that meeting, she was able to supply me with many tools. She created a game plan in "non-IT" terms. She armed me with data and information. Most importantly she guided me on which questions to ask. Since that first meeting (and many follow ups), I have been able to achieve a better sense of confidence in what I'm doing. Although I still have a very long road ahead, I feel like I can wrap my head around this project, and possibly make this transition to electronic health records as minimally invasive as I could ever hope to make it...and I truly feel that is because of the help that WIREC has provided."