When adding an electronic medical record (EMR) system to a medical office, it is essential a comprehensive program of training be part of the program. While some office managers may feel the staff is too busy for dedicated training days, the time investment is well worth it. As the adage goes, if you don't have time to do it right in the first place, when will you have time to fix it?
Start Training Early
It is never too soon to start developing the educational program. From the first stages of planning for EMR implementation, the office must consider how many hours of training are necessary and schedule accordingly.
One reason to plan early is in many cases temporary staff will be needed to cover for workers being educated on the new EMR software. A small general practitioner's office might be able to arrange to close the office for a day or two and have dedicated training days, but most medical providers don't have that luxury. They must continue to operate when bringing the software online.
Finding qualified medical professionals to fill in during this time can take weeks or months. Training and orienting temporary staff to facility operations before they can start working takes even longer.
Options for Training
Depending on the size of the facility and the complexity of the EMR, there are several training options available.
Training the entire staff at one time speeds up rollout of the new system. With everyone trained together, managers know exactly what everyone's level of proficiency is and employees can support each other. However this method of training is the most disruptive to office operations. If the facility cannot be closed during training, a large number of temporary staff must be located and oriented beforehand.
Many facilities work in stages, training some people while others continue working. Once the first group is finished, the next one is sent to classes. Fewer temporary staff members are necessary and they can often fill in for multiple groups. The main problems with this option are EMR rollout is slower and it may take employees longer to get used to using the new system.
Training Means Better EMR
While some offices may be hesitant to invest the time a training program takes, the results are tangible and beneficial.
People tend to resist change. This makes EMR rollout difficult if employees are reluctant to use the software and continue to use older methods. Studies show training lowers resistance and leads to wider acceptance of the new procedures.
Traditional on-the-job training often leads to incomplete understanding of the software. Employees end up not using features of the system because they weren't aware of them. Formally trained employees have a deeper understanding of the capabilities of the system and use it more efficiently.
Transition to EMR doesn't have to be a difficult process as long as it is approached with a solid plan of education and implementation.
Author Resource:-
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on EMR, visit http://www.FreedomMD.com/.
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