Have you decided to switch to the new electronic health record (EHR) system in your practice? An electronic health record (EHR) can help your practice keep organized, submit claims on time, coordinate care with other doctors, and improve communication with clients and staff. Your and your patients will be thrilled with this. However, all users must be trained appropriately to get the most out of your EHR.
For an EHR to be effective, physicians and support staff must be adequately trained to use it. You and your team may take advantage of your EHR’s capabilities and customization options to increase your practice’s productivity and provide better patient care. However, you must first learn how to navigate each step.
A lack of expertise with the EHR can result in dissatisfaction and unawareness of time-saving features. Suppose you don’t have sufficient EHR training. In that case, your clinic is also at greater risk of costly and potentially harmful paperwork errors.
The quality of treatment improves as a result of EHR training and education. If you’re a proactive institution, you know that investing in an EHR’s education is an investment that will pay off in both a clinical and economic sense.
EHR Training Benefits
With an EHR, you can transform your practice into the cutting-edge and efficient office that your patients expect from you. It is becoming more common for patients to anticipate the convenience of electronic health records (EHR) from other healthcare providers, such as access to their behavioral health records through a patient portal. Giving your customers what they want and need begins with providing your team with the proper EHR training. More advantages of EHR training include the following:
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Recognize the full potential of the EHR
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Documentation and Coding Accuracy Improvement
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Improve Efficiency and Productivity
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See a Return on Your Investment for Years
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Increase User Satisfaction
Creating an EHR Training Plan
A training plan outlines how you will offer training and guarantee that employees acquire new abilities. Training goals and a timeline should also be included in your strategy. To tailor your practice’s training program, follow these steps:
Assess skills and learning styles:
Examine each user’s computer skills and comfort with new technology. If your employees need to improve their Computer capabilities, consider teaching them fundamental computer skills. Plan to include courses that cater to different learning styles. You could, for example, integrate visual and verbal learning.
Establish training goals:
Describe your plan’s purpose and provide training targets for staff on EHR use. You may train therapists to utilize note-writing templates one week and then educate them to use a telemedicine platform the next. Overall, set short- and long-term training goals.
Plan your training delivery:
Describe the training methods you’ll utilize and provide materials and resources to trainees. Your EHR provider should have ample training resources for you and your staff. Create training materials tailored to your practice’s needs.
Decide how many and when to train:
Decide on other training parameters like how many individuals and when. Try to accommodate schedules and group employees who perform similar tasks. Depending on how they’ll use the EHR, certain employees may require more training than others.
Decide on a training location:
If training is not conducted at your workplace, select a venue as close as possible. Make sure the workspace is peaceful and comfortable. You could also offer online training.
Plan a timeline:
Trainees must have sufficient time to understand how to use the EHR. It’s best to start training two to eight weeks before the big day. Yet, super users should begin months in advance. Organize refresher classes a few days before implementation and include training goals in your plan.
Too often, there is a significant dependence on the institution’s employees and resources for implementation training activities and no continuous plan for post-go-live adoption of the new technology. Even the most robust EHR can’t help an institution succeed if it isn’t adequately trained and planned. Everyone’s knowledge and expertise will ensure the organization’s overall success through sound project management and support.