Boosting Healthcare Practice Efficiency: Optimize Workflows with EHR Software
EHRs have changed the way clinics work and function today. They have considerably impacted clinical workflows, so EHRS must be optimized and assessed to ensure the highest levels of patient care are provided.
Your medical practice depends upon your clinical workflow profoundly. Yet, when you get new EHR Software, it often decreases clinical efficiency and provider satisfaction. You must regularly assess your EHR and optimize it to provide the highest levels of patient care and remain profitable at the same time.
Since the past decade, practitioners have rapidly transitioned from paper-based to primarily digital documentation. Many healthcare practices and ambulatory clinics have started using at least a basic EHR. It was expected that the EHR would improve quality and efficiency substantially. It was also anticipated that EHRs would readily integrate into and support clinical work. However, the reality has been more complex. EHR implementation has proved to be more complicated than was thought, especially with supporting clinical workflow. Here are a few ways you can optimize workflow with EHR software and boost your healthcare practice efficiency:
Create a Workflow Plan
It may happen that you may be adopting an EHR for the first time. Alternatively, you could be enhancing the existing EHR System Software. In either case, commencing with a workflow plan is essential. Although developing a thorough workflow plan could take time, it is not advisable to disregard this step, as this could lead to productivity losses.
Obtain Support from Vendors
It is an excellent idea to ask your EHR vendor if they will review your clinical workflows. You may even request your EHR representative to provide a training session. You can ask them to give you tips on increasing workflow efficiency. In the process, you may discover ways to optimize your EHR workflow that are not supported by your software, so you should ask for improvements.
Organize Your Clinical Documentation Process
A recent report discovered that primary care doctors spend around six hours in the EHR daily. This includes approximately 90 minutes after office hours. Thus, you must streamline your clinical documentation process so that you can regain control of your workday. You may also consider improvements such as investing in (computer-assisted physician documentation) CAPD or live dictation.
Build an Appropriate EHR Optimization Team
While optimizing workflows, you might need experts to take the optimization process forward. You may have to look at your current in-house IT team. Ask yourself questions like what their current bandwidth is and what specialties and qualifications they have. You must understand their capabilities to build an appropriate EMR optimization team.
Initiate a Thorough Training Program
Technology that isn’t optimized to the fullest will not provide the efficiency and effectiveness you want. Implement a thorough training program that is designed to teach how to use the EHR software in the most effective way possible. You may implement the training program when you implement new employees and even as a refresher course.
Minimize Cumbersome Workflows
Clinicians must click repeatedly to utilize the EHR and retrieve all the essential clinical information. This could lead to physician burnout and hamper physicians from focusing on the patient. Providers must access information with a minimum number of clicks to boost healthcare practice efficiency. Doctors spend over 16 minutes on each encounter in documentation and charting tasks. Optimizing workflows appropriately and with minimum clicks can help ease this problem and boost practice efficiency.
Take a Strategic Approach to EHR Optimization
As a healthcare provider, taking specific strategic approaches for optimizing workflows with EHR software is advisable. First, map the current workflows and then compare the improved workflows after EHR Service Software implementation. You can also directly observe how individuals use the EHR and identify if additional training is required.
End Note
Implementing an EHR is a costly proposal. A healthcare provider must derive value from the money invested in an EHR. At the same time, a healthcare provider must optimize its workflow. Workflows must be optimized and even improved to achieve the expected value. In most organizations, even today, clinical workflows are not optimal. Although EHR software can benefit medical practices greatly, it must be fine-tuned to improve productivity and efficiency.
Nevertheless, clinical workflows can be optimized, and practice efficiency can be boosted. OmniMD’s cloud-based EHR is designed to gel seamlessly with your workflows, whether prescribing the proper medication, reminding the clinical summaries, or providing complete analytics. Contact us to learn more!
