Have a New EHR System? Why Training Your Staff Is Key

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Have a New EHR System? Why Training Your Staff Is
Key Is your medical practice switching from paper
records to electronic health records (EHRs)? Are
you switching from one EHR system to
another? EHRs are vital tools that could assist
your practice and ultimately, your patients. But
adopting one or switching to a new EHR system
could be challenging. Thats why training your
staff beforehand is crucial. EHR system training
provides many benefits because you could Build
confidence and reduce fears Technology improves
our lives in many ways, but its always
evolving. A new EHR system might seem
frightening for staff members who are accustomed
to other systems or ways of doing things. It
could be even more daunting if youre switching
from paper to electronic files, or if employees
dont have a lot of other experience with medical
software applications. Discussing why EHR is
important and how it could simplify their lives
could help alleviate these fears. During these
discussions, you could mention how your practice
has successfully changed in other ways and tell
them that youre confident that they could
weather these changes. Help staff members teach
others Confidence-building team meetings and
training sessions could help everyone in the
practice now and in the future. Giving
demonstrations of your new EHR system teaches
your staff members how to use it and apply it to
everyday situations. Once they have this
knowledge, they could help each other. They
could also use such knowledge to assist any new
team members your practice might employ. Learn
about EHR yourself Meetings and training
sessions could also be good methods of training
yourself.
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To teach something, you need to know it well. You
need to learn how to use EHR systems yourself
before instructing others. If your staff is also
learning, you could work together to teach each
other. Participating in demonstrations (demos)
and instructional sessions could also foster a
sense of camaraderie because youre all facing
the same issues together. Determine whether it
works with other systems Learning about a new
EHR system is more than learning how to use the
system. Because while youre learning how to
enter data, access information, and perform other
tasks related to your EHR software, youre also
learning about the system itself. You could
determine whether this EHR system is compatible
with your practice management software. Does
your EHR software work with your practice
management software to help schedule
appointments, share information, communicate with
patients, and perform other tasks? You could use
the training period to answer this question and
others. Check for errors in the system In
addition to determining the compatibility of an
EHR system, training could also help you check
whether it works. During these sessions, you and
your staff members could check whether your new
EHR software is doing what its supposed to be
doing. Is it letting you enter, save, and access
information? Are you able to use other features
easily? Are there glitches in the
software? Checking for errors in the training
stage could prevent frustration when youre
trying to use the system in real time for work
purposes. Make changes Similarly, if you spot
errors in your EHR system, you could fix
them. Training periods could be a good time to
make any necessary changes. Many EHR software
manufacturers offer troubleshooting and support
services. Medical practices could work with these
services to correct errors and customize systems
to suit their needs.
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Staff members might have to adjust as well.
Making these changes as theyre learning could
prevent minor errors from becoming major. Decide
if an EHR system works for you This adaptability
demonstrates that while EHR systems are
investments of time and money, theyre not final
and unchangeable. By undergoing EHR software
training, you and your staff could determine if
the system works for your practice, if you need
to make alterations, or if youd like to abandon
the system entirely and return to your old one or
another option. Again, its a good idea to talk
to the EHR manufacturer and its support workers.
They might have suggestions for using and
changing the system in ways you didnt know or
havent considered. Implement new EHR systems
faster Holding group training sessions could
save time. Instead of each staff member learning
the system individually and facing similar
issues, group classes could train multiple people
in fewer sessions. They could also address many
of your staff members common problems and
questions at once. Your practice might want to
designate one or two of your employees as
superusers. Superusers are employees who have
more knowledge of and access to your offices
software. They could teach others how to use the
system, answer questions about it, and serve as
liaisons between your staff members and IT
workers or software representatives. Such
experienced users could save your practice time
and aggravation because they help their
co-workers adapt to new EHRs more
quickly. Reduce errors Superusers could also
assist your practice in other ways. They could
spot errors, reduce the severity of such
mistakes, and even keep others from
occurring. Doing these things during training is
important because such attention could prevent
small mistakes from growing. After EHR programs
have been implemented, superusers could continue
assisting their co-workers and your practice.
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Nobodys perfect, and mistakes inevitably happen.
But superusers could help your practice get more
things right than wrong. Provide better patient
care EHR software training helps your practice
and its employees. Just as importantly, it helps
your patients. With software training, your
staff members know how to use the system
correctly and efficiently. Instead of spending
their time wrestling with technology that puts
them in bad moods, they have more opportunities
to assist patients pleasantly and
effectively. Staff members who are trained in
EHRs could use them to understand their patients
needs and deliver solutions to assist them. For
ideas on how to use EHR software, practice
management systems, and other technological tools
to enhance your medical practice, consider
contacting Eye Care Leaders. We can discuss and
deliver solutions that could help you, your
staff, and your patients