Author: Sherry Pouncey
Blue Eagle’s own Director of Professional Services
Physician adoption should be one of your highest priorities when implementing an electronic medical record. It’s imperative for a successful EHR implementation and will allow organizations to gain optimum benefits post go-live. Much like a super user program, physician adoption engagement should start early. BEC’s unique approach to engage providers early, foster investment, create excitement and, ultimately, ensure high rates of adoption are key factors in any successful software implementation.
“The technology you use impresses no one. The experience you create with it is everything” Sean Gerety.
Early engagement is key
Physicians understand the increasingly important role of technology in healthcare. Sometimes, however, they see this technology as an impediment to patient care. Our approach is to empower improved operational efficiency and enhanced patient quality of care. Technology applied correctly and adopted by physicians, can help build patient relationships, reduce cost, and increase productivity. The opposite, of course, happens when less than optimal technology adoption is achieved.
Physician adoption should start as early as the vendor selection process. This is your biggest opportunity to lay the groundwork for physician buy-in. Physicians are key stakeholders and should have ownership in this process. Engaging physicians early in this decision-making process will result in higher adoption rates and help ensure successful implementation.
Involvement fosters ownership
Once an EHR vendor has been selected, physicians should be included in the design phase of the project. Specialty workflows should be considered. Workflows should come directly from practicing physicians in your facility. Ownership of these workflows and how they will translate to the future state of your new medical record platform, will be key in adoption success. Additionally, physicians should be involved in the testing phase of your implementation project. This does two things; the obvious benefit is the completion of the testing that needs to take place. But an additional benefit is the physician can see the upstream and downstream effects of their actual workflow during integrated testing. Understanding workflows from other positions within your organization will provide valuable insight into the technology platform.
You are only as good as your training
When it is time for training, the physicians that have been involved since day one, become your greatest champions to bring their peers on the bandwagon of training and implementation. With ownership of this process, they are key in fostering excitement and buy-in of their coworkers.
As the need for value-based care continues to increase, healthcare technology adoption is more important than ever. Dynamic and engaging training programs cultivate the excitement and buy-in you need from your physicians.
As you work toward your go-live date, your providers will only be as ready as their training has prepared them. On day one of go-live, your end-users will only be as good as their training. A strong training program is imperative to achieve a successful implementation. Early physician adopters will significantly impact the engagement of their peers during training. Training programs should incorporate daily workflows by specialty. Each provider specialty will have a unique way in which they access and engage the electronic medical record.
Go-Live Successfully with Blue Eagle
Traditional approaches have not always been successful. At Blue Eagle Consulting, we do things differently. Contact us today to learn more about our unique physician adoption strategy.
