Sep

7

Training Tips for Implementing your New EMR

Filed Under EMR Software, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

By Sheldon Needle

EMR’s come loaded with options, medical practice modules, streamlining techniques. But, unless your employees – physicians included –learn to harness (if not master) most of the modules of the EMR and tailor them to the work-flow of your practice, you will lose the advantages the EMR can bring.

Thus, training in the use and management of the EMR is almost as crucial as your choice of EMR. In fact, when you compare EMR software be sure to investigate the training options the EMR manufacturer, and the consultants who install it offer to a practice like yours. The training and support offered by an EMR vendor is as important as the quality of your EMR software. If you can’t use it correctly, and it doesn’t save you time and effort, it will make your whole practice miserable.

Here are some critical tips to keep in mind regarding training:

1. Understand the workflow of your practice. Chart it out on paper, for starters: who does what? Who follows up on a task. Just charting the progress of a medical prescription from the doctor’s pen to the patient’ pharmacy is a multi-person task. See what tasks may be eliminated or cut short by the use of your prescription module, for instance.

2. Understand who needs to be trained in what: Unless you are a 1-physician doctor’s office, different people generally perform different functions within the practice. Everyone doesn’t do everything, and doesn’t have to be trained in the use of all modules.

If you are dealing with a reputable vendor, the people who are installing your EMR will talk to you first about your workflow and your needs, and tailor and help customize the EMR to meet those needs. They and you will recognize the need to train different people in the use of different modules.

For instance, the people who handle medical practice management and medical insurance claims processing do not need to be expert in the Prescription Drug Tracking Modules. They may need to know how to access the module for reporting purposes, but they do not need to know all of its ins and outs as the doctors and nurses do.

3. Don’t try to implement the whole EMR at once. Virtually all EMR’s are modular, and handle different functions discretely. Since functions are often pretty complex, allow your employees to master a number of critical modules before they move on to others.

Read the complete article at CTSGuides.com.