How To Do EHR Implementation In The Right Way?
As the adoption of the electronic health record is increasing day by day, the healthcare providers are questioning which EHR will best fit their practice needs and simple to implement. The EHR implementation process can be difficult due to the risks involved with getting the process wrong. So, how to do EHR implementation in the right way?
What is the EHR Implementation Process?
In common the term implementation refers to integrating a software-based service into the workflow of an individual end-user. In the same way, an EHR implementation refers to the process of planning and performing integration of EHR software and components in healthcare practice.
Top 8 Successful EHR Implementation Steps
1. Start With A Research
To do EHR implementation in the right way, knowing what you want and what you have is very much important. So a healthcare practice should assign a dedicated person to do the preliminary research on EHR. Some of the common question to check with the current EHR status is listed as follows.
- Is your medical practice is ready to be a part of digital transformation?
- What is the difference between EHR and EMR?
- Is EHR interoperability truly the biggest challenge IN 2021?
- Is cloud-based EHR is beneficial?
The main goal of any EHR implementation plan is to outline the processes which need to be correctly executed by your practice team of physicians and IT staff. By doing research helps you to find out what is the latest and most important features are in today’s EHR.
2. Build Your EHR Implementation Team
For implementing EHR, you’ll need a strong team to make the implementation process go smoothly as possible. The group can incorporate staff individuals like doctors, nurses, clinical associates, and managerial staff. Colleagues will help the process by showing partners’ EHR abilities and guiding the implementation team to identify the potential challenges along the way.
RELATED: How Using An EHR/EMR Improves Practice Revenue?
What does an EHR implementation specialist do?
The implementation team is responsible for the implementation, training, configuration, re-engineering of practice operations to support the successful adoption of EHR software. Some of the other key tasks they are responsible for are:
- Project scheduling and road mapping
- User training and change management
- Security assessment
- Data migration and cleansing
- Testing and go-live activities
Who are the main users for implementing electronic health records in hospitals?
Lead Super User: The lead super user is the in-house EHR master. This individual will do format creation and build up the work processes. There might be extra duty regarding making standard working techniques for the opportunity that comes when issues clients are having should be tended to (and it will undoubtedly occur).
Lead Physician: The lead doctor’s job is to manage everybody in the association/office/center through EHR Implementation by educating about the connection between cutting edge system users and the specialized staff. The ideal clinician would be somebody who is now well informed and is available to new EHR processes and changes.
Project Manager: The project manager will be the key contact and maintain a proper communication flow between the EHR vendor and the practice staff. This individual will help with keeping staff focused on the implementation process and solving any user issues.
RELATED: Here Is How EHR Can Improve Patient Care In 2021
3. Check Your Software Has HIPAA compliance
At the point when you are implementing your EHR you should guarantee that safety efforts are met as a matter of first importance so you are not violating any HIPPA laws. For a successful EHR implementation, it is always advisable to perform a HIPAA risk assessment. Also, work with your IT expert to be certain that the product you have picked is fully compliant.
4. Forecast Your EHR Implementation Cost
While talking about the implementation cost, a well-defined budget should include the following elements;
- Hardware and network upgrades
- Vendor training fees
- Consultancy costs
- Practice staff overtime and temporary staff
- Productivity loss
- Customization consultancy from the EHR vendor
- Data backups and storage (with cloud EHR costs)
5. Making The Right Decision With Hardware Needs
Whatever you decide for your equipment will altogether affect your staff’s time and the office’s financial plan. A few healthcare practices give each staff a tablet or a PC so that time isn’t spent signing all through PCs between every communication with patients. Your IT professional can help you discover the gear you need cost-adequately.
6. Successful EHR Data Migration
At the point when your hardware equipment and software are prepared for the subsequent stage, it’s the ideal opportunity for successful EHR implementation. Moving the information makes this progress a reality. Decide how your information relocation from your previous framework to your new EHR will be finished.
You can do this few different ways. Existing office staff can be allocated the assignment or you can enlist transitory staff to transfer your information to the EHR. To guarantee that basic information isn’t missed in the EHR data migration process that needs to be moved and firmly understood.
7. Determine Your EHR Launch Approach
Once the EHR implementation plan is completely done, now it’s time to decide when and how to launch to achieve successful results. You can either launch it in a single time, or you can do it slowly as an incremental approach. By launching incrementally, the disruption is easier to manage.
RELATED: Checklist To Find The Best EHR For Your Practice
8. Feedback Is important For Ongoing Success
After the successful EHR implementation, open the doors for collecting feedback from your staff and your patients to continually improve the process. Both kinds of feedback are very important as you are implementing a new EHR system. If your patients are already a part of your team, then patients will feel very comfortable providing feedback. Working as a team will surely improve your practice workflow.
Final Thoughts
Following these steps will give you a strong foundation for the EHR implementation process. Successful EHR implementation is very easy and possible to achieve if you have the right software vendor to partner with. Vozo EHR software can offer your practice a smooth transition into a quality EHR and guide you right from the start to implementing electronic health records in your hospitals.
With more than 4 years of experience in the dynamic healthcare technology landscape, Sid specializes in crafting compelling content on topics including EHR/EMR, patient portals, healthcare automation, remote patient monitoring, and health information exchange.
His expertise lies in translating cutting-edge innovations and intricate topics into engaging narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.