Posted by: Jonena L. Relth, TBD Consulting President and Leadership Evangelist and Esther Groves, TBD Consulting Senior Consultant
As we look at the new year anticipating MANY EMR implementations, I thought it would be good to do a bit of a primer on what healthcare organizations should do to ensure that the critical components of our training and development process are firmly rooted in reality and will propel our organization toward successful electronic medical record (EMR) implementation and adoption.
Does one of these scenarios describe your healthcare organization?
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Young teaching hospital with tech-savvy interns
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Mature practice with ready-to-retire physicians
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Computer literate and open to change
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Still in manual mode, resistant to new technology
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Combination of the above
Any successful EMR implementation must start with an honest appraisal of the organization’s readiness (or not!) to embrace technology and change. Decision-makers must:
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Realistically assess end-users for their attitude, skill and knowledge (A.S.K.),
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Prepare the organization for change,
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Provide targeted training and
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Support the implementation through every milestone and celebrate success.
Not new news, but we often fall short here... First and foremost, to ensure employee engagement throughout the process, executive buy-in and support for all aspects of the training must be visible and present from the earliest planning stages to beyond roll-out. This is not just a “nice to have.” Gallup studies based on thousands of employees from hundreds of organizations have shown there is a direct and positive correlation between employee engagement and profitability.1
Executive support comes in the form of:
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Adoption and oversight of a solid change management plan that includes training
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High-level communication of upcoming changes and WIIFMs (what’s in it for me) for the organization and each user group
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Ongoing communication and support for the process at each step
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Problem resolution at a high level as needed
Training and communication cannot be an afterthought written after plans are made and the system is built. Failure to recognize this will result in frustration, finger-pointing, re-work, and squandered resources. On the other hand, successful training and communication can pave the way to improved patient care, reduced errors, and a healthy ROI for the entire implementation.
1. John Fleming, PhD & Jim Asplund, Human Sigma, 2007.
And of course, to make sure we get what we pay for (Positive Return On our training Investment): we need a high-quality training plan that includes an overarching communication plan along with these key components:
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Organization analysis
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Audience analysis
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Training capability analysis
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Training design and development
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Evaluation
Hopefully we've got your brain cells alerted to the fact that an effective EMR implementation requires more than just IT. Well thought-out training should be an intregal part of EMR implementation from the inception of the project. Without it, is like installing one traffic light in Kathmandu, Nepal and expecting the drivers to slow down for the yellow lights and stop for the red lights without being told what a traffic light it, why it was installed, and what the lights are telling them what to do. (Actual example - I've been there...)
The stakes are high when a new EMR system is underway. Patient care and safety hang in the balance. Our EMR users need to do their jobs well and their jobs now demand competency using our EMR.
Details on what is needed to ensure successful EMR Implementation communication, organization analysis, audience analysis, training capability analysis, training design and development and evaluation will be explained in Part Two.
Related Posts:
Training Can Smooth the Way for EMR Implementation and Adoption Part 2
Training Can Smooth the Way for EMR Implementation and Adoption Part 3
The necessity for appropriate training in an EMR implementation cannot be overstated. I am going into my 6th year as an EMR trainer/training project manager and the most successful implementations are those that take into account adult learning theory, differences in roles (there is no one size fits all EMR training!) and provide adequate time and resources to support the end user in making this transistion.
Grat post, look forward to part 2.
Posted by: Andrea Morgan | 01/28/2011 at 12:05 PM