Preparation of the Training Plan
Up to this point, we have discussed the different elements of the electronic medical record (EMR) system: from the choice of hardware to software and infrastructure. Now is the time to integrate these parts to make our paperless office a reality.
Our Internet technology team did a great job early on, planning important tasks like the satellite office cabling; we needed a fully integrated plan that linked to the technical aspects of the project, with training aspects to maximize efficiency and make the best use of staff time.
Key staff from a variety of departments (including clinical, IT, administrative, and administrative) met with Frank Polack of Evitor Consulting, a project management facilitator, to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the implementation of the project. The main processes that needed to be addressed included hardware procurement and configuration, software configuration, EMR configuration, infrastructure, training plan, testing, process review, and implementation phases.
These processes can be further broken down into smaller steps. These steps can be delegated to someone who then ‘owns’ that thread. In these cases, the main process of configuring the EMR program is divided into particular problems (templates or configuration, for example), then subdivided into specific tasks (which templates to create, which standard templates to use, who creates each, who will review them). , and how they will be tested).
In our own example of setting up electronic medical records, the IT and Physician workgroup looked at existing clinical templates within the EMR application. The working group only makes modifications as needed, as determined by the current workflow in use in practice. In this way, the change has the most visible effect on patient exams. This is particularly true for tech-savvy physicians, who of course will expect the new system to be more efficient than the one currently in use.
Some workflow changes will be required, taking into account the hierarchy-based design of the EMR system. As an example, if we are currently dictating to a scribe that looks like “2+ NS (nuclear sclerosis) and PSC”, we may need to say “lens, NS 2+ PSC 2+”. At first, this may seem like a minor difference, but it can surely have overall workflow efficiency when combined with hundreds of daily patient exams.
The onus is on the setup, which must find another method to synchronize how staff and clinicians feel comfortable working with the EMR system effectively. A separate EMR system database test is accessible from home, via remote desktop services by any individual member of the work group. The working group can then do a final review before making any changes to the working database.