Several best practices for Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation can help ensure a successful rollout of the system. These include:
Tailor your EHR with staff workflows in mind
You cannot construct the system to fulfill 100% of each individual’s demands. But you also cannot implement it in a general fashion and expect that everyone will adjust. It’s crucial to identify the elements that can be tailored to fit a specific situation and those that may apply to a larger range of people. To guarantee that the EHR will function for everyone, it is essential to obtain the staff’s thoughts and opinions as well as their collaboration.
Identify ways the EHR could potentially fail to prevent problems in the future
Identify potential EHR failure points with the help of stakeholders. Then utilize this information to decide what will be required to make the EHR effective. Keep in mind that you are working with a sizable volume of data. Make sure to plan for adequate storage and fast computers so that you can retrieve the data promptly.
Don’t hurry with implementation; take your time with training
Train for every stage of the process and undertake numerous quick training sessions. Additionally, experts have emphasized the need to start small and stick to a set process to guarantee implementation correctness and effectiveness.
Practices are not hospital expansions when using an EHR.
Hospitals and practices have vastly different needs for EHRs. “Processes that bring success to hospitals can very well cause failure in medical practices,” experts concluded.
Reduce duplication
Data entering that is redundant must be limited. Patient demographics, as an illustration, must be entered whenever the patient enters the system. But they also must be accessible across all modules and interfaces, according to health experts.
Work with professionals who have expertise in implementing EHRs
Consult with a professional who knows EHR system implementation. According to experts, the key to success or failure lies with someone who “intimately knows the fundamental workflow of a practice or hospital and is educated in the specifics of the EHR.”