As well being methods look to automate as a lot as attainable to cut back administrative burden, Lisa Bragg, R.N., B.S.N., a managing director at consulting agency Impression Advisors, spoke with Healthcare Innovation concerning the thought of doing an EHR “tune-up,” which she described as evaluating and optimizing present EHR methods to enhance effectivity and scale back handbook workarounds.
Impression Advisors works with well being methods on EHR implementations, post-implementation optimization, and main system migrations, making certain seamless integration and operational effectivity. Additionally they assist shoppers with EHR vendor evaluations and transitions.
Bragg, who has expertise as a important care nurse, stated well being system shoppers immediately are asking for assist with three predominant issues with regards to automation, The primary is with ambient listening and documentation, good rooms which might be voice-enabled, and digital care. They need assist evaluating what’s purposeful, significant and secure, Bragg stated. “There’s lots of noise within the business about AI, and so they’re probably not positive the place to go,” she stated, including that they need assist in deciding what to prioritize. “As soon as they implement and undertake AI, if they don’t seem to be getting the profit they anticipated, we accomplice with them to attempt to discover out why — and lots of occasions it is the mixing of this know-how. Your observe and efficiency have to enhance to align with it. And we shut that hole between how you employ the know-how and the way that folds into that every day workflow of the tip person.”
Plenty of occasions, if the well being system is utilizing a third-party vendor, they start with a return on funding that they are hoping to get, however then if they don’t seem to be attaining that, Impression Advisors is introduced in to assist them get to that time. “If you’re fascinated about including know-how or augmenting your workforce, we’d like to verify the common processes are working,” Bragg famous. “In any other case the know-how simply sits on prime of one thing that is not working, and also you’re automating a course of that does not work.”
Bragg suggests well being methods think about doing one thing referred to as an EHR tune-up.
Because you first deployed the EHR 5 years in the past, there could be kinds of automation that you simply’re not benefiting from, or there’s been two or three totally different options added to make one thing much more seamless and higher on your groups.
She stated this comes all the way down to that frontline person who’s most accountable for a selected module inside their EHR. Generally they’ve developed handbook work-arounds which might be pointless. Or it might be a third-party software that is built-in along with your EHR. You may need exterior software that you simply suppose goes that will help you get someplace, however perhaps it’s pointless. Do an evaluation and discover out what what items of the EHR you are utilizing and what latest improvements you’ve put in place. “The tune-up entails actually working with the people who find themselves closest to the product or software that is getting used to decipher if what they’re utilizing is absolutely wanted,” Bragg stated.
The strain to do these EHR tune-ups can come from the popularity that the well being system will not be attaining the targets it anticipated. For example, they’re nonetheless having a length-of-stay challenge, although they applied a affected person throughput resolution two years in the past. Ahead-thinking organizations need to do higher, Bragg stated. “Shoppers ask us to check out how we’re utilizing purposes or the EHR or their workflow or processes.”
Impression Advisors additionally helps well being methods which might be deciding to modify EHR distributors if they’ve a legacy system, and it additionally helps in the course of the transition to a brand new EHR. “We don’t make that call for them, however we’re serving to them take that journey,” Bragg stated. This work additionally occurs when well being methods undergo a merger or acquisition and so they need to unify on a single EHR platform. Bragg stated the agency is at the moment working with an 11-hospital well being system as they transition to a brand new EHR.
After implementation, Impression Advisors could also be requested to remain on for the optimization section. “It’s actually difficult to attempt to optimize as you go in, as a result of in the course of the implementation there are lots of transferring items,” she stated.
