subject: Planning Your Practice's EMR System Adoption [print this page] Planning Your Practice's EMR System Adoption
Never before has adopting an EMR system been so inexpensive for the small medical clinic in the United States. You can thank the Feds for that. Yes, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (otherwise known as "the Stimulus Package"), is the prime suspect here, as it has provided huge bonuses to doctors that show meaningful use of an EMR software system. The main point behind the offer is that adoption helps the Healthcare industry, and the government is willing to reimburse you for that help.
The stimulus plan is a three way positive, as it obviously is a boon for the EMR software industry, but also doctor-users and the healthcare industry itself, as it moves slowly toward some type of standard for EMR software. What many physicians do not understand, however, is that EMR software is quite different than most productivity applications. Instead, an efficient EMR software adoption process must feature precision planning to ensure true effectiveness.
Fact: 95 out of 100 electronic medical records software consultants would love to provide you with an EMR system and then make a run for it. And frankly, many vendors actually WILL do this. But the representative of a real system with real training and support programs realizes that designing a plan for adoption is important to not only your use of an electronic medical records software, but to potential future business.
A plan to install an EMR software system to a medical clinic will often consist of the following:
Workflow Constructed For Efficiency First - Adopting an EMR system is far from just a plug and play solution that can be added instantly. In fact, to properly gain the advantages that make the system one of the best returns on investment in the technology industry necessitates that the manner in which your staff functions changes markedly in some cases. Clerical help, as an example, may require more time to prepare electronic medical records before appointments. Paper will no longer be a problem in most cases, of course, and with that point in hand, some practices find the surprise a tough nut to crack. A knowledgeable vendor will know this.
Superior Training Is Critical - It makes no difference the number sales presentations you've seen boasting of the superior ease of use of your new EMR system. When it comes down to it, you and your entire staff should have a solid working knowledge of the system if your installation is going to work. This is where training matters, of course. The proper training plan makes sure that the product is embraced completely from the get-go, which ensures maximum learning speed. Another aspect of a training program is figuring out whether the instruction is to be initiated in the practice, outside the practice or remotely via the web. Each has its benefits and downfalls, and an experienced vendor can help you with this.
Mentorship - Nominating an "EMR Mentor" is a boon to adoption and training process. This Mentor should be counted upon to have the most current knowledge of the application, and be able to help staff members that are having issues, or who are unused to using computers in the workplace. Determining which staff member can be a task, but also can save the practice thousands of dollars in support and training costs by alleviating the need to get on the phone with the company whenever a difficulty arises.
It is critical for any small clinic looking to add EMR to their practice that this is not simply an application. A correctly adopted electronic medical record system is just that: a system where the application and staff team up to create efficiencies, and in the end, return on investment.
