Electronic Medical Records Implementation
Changing from paper medical records to electronic medical records might sound like a breeze, but there are many considerations that must be addressed for your implementation to go well. The following overview includes some of the important areas to focus on during the implementation of electronic medical records software.
Readiness
It’s important to assess your EMR readiness before implementing an EMR. . This means being sure the practice is ready to make the change and that all objections to its implementation have been heard and resolved before implementation occurs. It might not seem like a big issue initially, but not resolving objections and dealing with staff members’ anxiety, questions, and concerns could be costly. Make sure the practice is in a good place with no major moves on the horizon before implementing an EMR. Having a practice that is settled and secure is important because too many changes at once could be impossible to handle.
Workflow
Another tip for implementation of an EMR system is to determine the workflow in the practice before the system is implemented. This not only helps in determining what is needed in the system, but it also identifies potential problem areas that need to be worked on and fixed before the system is installed.
Milestones
Any practice that is considering an EMR system must evaluate how long they are willing to take to adopt the system and have milestones they want to reach along the way. Knowing what these milestones are up front will allow the practice to evaluate how implementation is going and where additional assistance may be necessary.
Prepare the Doctors
Doctors are the main individuals using EMR systems and often are the individuals most unwilling to accept this change. Before implementing an EMR system it is important to discuss concerns with physicians, show them demos of the software options available, and listen to their feedback. When the physicians are happy with the EMR system chosen then implementation is much more likely to be successful.
Training
Training of all employees on the EMR software is important for successful implementation. Many times the best way to go about training is to have nurses trained first so they can provide support to physicians.
Many EMR software systems are expected to be replaced over the next several years thanks to Federal stimulus money targeted for the implementation of electronic medical records systems in doctor’s practices and hospitals.
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