Helpful Hints for a Successful EHR Implementation: Ways to simplify and make your transition to EHR easier for everyone!
1. Assign an internal project manager – Choose a liaison and leader for your clinic. Someone who can coordinate with the EHR trainers to insure that all of the initial prep work has been done prior to your clinic’s ‘go-live’ day.
2. Gain cooperation among departments (billing, clinical, front desk, administration) – Include different departments in initial planning and training. Make all areas of the clinic feel important to the success of the install – because they really are!
3. Identify practice problems/bottlenecks that can be remapped – Evaluate areas in the clinic that are already ‘difficult’ areas. Work with staff to define ways to make problem areas better if possible prior to implementation.
4. Perform hardware analysis based on vendor specifications – Work with the vendor to define and verify any hardware areas that need to be replaced, upgraded or added to insure all is in place and usable prior to implementation
5. Have your staff provide template information – Work with clinical staff to provide as much information for templates and set up PRIOR to the provider being trained. This will allow the provider to see how his information will look in the system during training and offer time to allow for changes/edits prior to ‘going live’ on the EHR.
6. Avoid double booking appointments for the first weeks and possibly decrease schedule by a few patients/time slots for the first few days – This will eliminate some undue stress for the provider and staff as they work together to utilize a new system.
7. Allow time during the day for the providers to ‘catch up’ – During many installs, trainers will guide the providers to do a smaller number of patients in the computer with time later in the day or over lunch to do a few more to catch up. Each day the provider will become faster and therefore, will be able to do more encounters at the time of service.
8. Make your patients aware of the change – During this transition, educate your staff on ways to educate patients of new features that impact their patient experience, as well as just notifying patients that your office is going through a change in systems and may require a little patience on their part this visit.
9. Recognize this as a process and plan to make modifications as you go – Every office and provider functions differently and learns differently. Be excited about the wonderful way the EHR will affect your ability to offer better patient care and follow-up, but expect to make adjustments and changes as needed. In the long run, your staff, provider and patients will benefit from the EHR.