Electronic Medical Records Guide

It is essential to provide staff with thorough electronic medical records training when you have a new system installed. As with any new program or platform, if you don’t understand how it works and what it can do for you, its full benefits are not utilized. Why pay a huge fee for something when you only end up using 50 percent of its capacity?

Purchasing $30,000 worth of electronic medical records system is like buying a $30,000 grand piano. Whether you play Tchaikovsky’s 1^st Piano Concerto or Chopsticks very much depends on the level of training. Too many practices can only play Chopsticks because they didn’t make the most of their electronic medical records training.

Large segments of the system can remain idle, so proper training is vital to get your money’s worth out of your electronic medical records. However, even before installing a new system it is important to establish what you want from it and how it can save your practice time and money.

Every medical practice follows different procedures and has unique ways of carrying out daily tasks. These can vary depending on the preferences of the physician or the habits of employees. Therefore it is important to map out a workflow of how things are done in your own practice.

For example the way prescription requests is processed can vary in each practice. The paper flow may involve the receptionist receiving the request over the phone before he or she passes it direct to the physician assistant. In other practices there may be more steps in the workflow. Using electronic medical records is a good opportunity to streamline the process.

Mapping the workflow on paper will help with the design of the software package should your medical practice be seeking a customized solution. Also it will help target appropriate electronic medical records training to the right people. With a workflow drawn up in advance, trainers will know which staff should be using which part of the system. This is very important when you plan to use the vendors to train existing and indeed new staff members.

When providing training to staff on new software it really makes it easier if it can be conducted away from the daily hustle and bustle of the office. Distractions from phone calls or patients wanting an urgent appointment will mean staff missing some crucial information or just failing to understand properly.

If possible, try to set aside a separate room for electronic medical records training so that staff can give their full attention to what they are being taught. Some vendors offer computer based training, which can be equally effective so long as there are no distractions.

Of course not all practices can facilitate training in a spare room, so additional cover needs to be on hand to take all the calls and inquiries whilst the staff member receives uninterrupted training. It may be necessary to even open the office late one morning or close early in the evening to facilitate the training.

Using electronic medical records can take time to learn so training shouldn’t be rushed. There is no point trying to cram in the training in just a few hours as this will be self defeating. Not everything will sink in and time and money will have been wasted. Usually the best people to advise you on how the electronic medical records training should be formatted are the vendors.

Spreading the training out will make it easier for staff to get to grips with each module of the system. Users need to know the basics before they tackle more complex tasks in the system. In fact once the system is up and running with all staff comfortable using it, it is advisable to have the vendors on hand to provide further training on some of the more complex parts.

Good, well thought out electronic medical records training will ultimately save the practice a lot of time and effort. A well run practice in turn leads to a happier team and more importantly, satisfied patients.