Choose your EHR trainers carefully
Volunteer EHR trainers seem to be more effective than those who are appointed by management, according to a story published in BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making.
Researchers looked at two units in an academic health system that was implementing an Epic EHR system between October 2012 and June 2013.
Researchers completed 24 in-depth interviews and observed a total of 29 employees who were EHR "super users."
The following two factors had the greatest effect on the success of EHR implementation:
- Individuals who volunteered to participate were more engaged in their role; and
- Managers who were active--rather than passive--in supporting implementation goals saw more success.
Managers have to answer an important question in deciding whether to let theri super users volunteer for the role or pick tech-savvy people, said Yale University researcher and lead author Christina Yuan. "There is really great intuition for both, but this is a teaching role, so you really need people who will be good teachers."
She also noted that it is particularly important for planners to ensure there is adequate staffing during implementation.
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.