Our Approach

User-Centric Readiness

Realizing the value of an EMR system lies in the hands of the end users. The technical implementation may be stellar, but if the end user does not use the system to fully exploit its potential, than the organization will not achieve the many intended benefits. Understanding what the end user needs to be prepared for go-live is the crucial first step in an ongoing readiness process.

The key to EMR implementation success is to ensure readiness through training, communications and support, customized to meet the needs of specific user roles and how they perform their job.

Without job-specific, go-live preparations...

...Classroom training time is not optimized.

...Frustration, anxiety and stress levels increase.

...Some users may work more hours initially while others may be left out.

...Inconsistencies develop, with users inventing ineffective shortcuts.

...Timely, accurate answers to questions become elusive.

This ultimately leads to inconsistencies, costly inefficiencies and lost opportunity to achieve the value from the implementation. Our end user research clearly indicates that everyone benefits from user-centric not just system-centric readiness preparations.

Organization-Wide Implications

The way a physician uses an EMR system is different from a nurse or a pharmacist and so on. General "one size fits all" training does not prepare users for the new way they will have to do their job, or to understand the impact their usage will have on others. To effectively prepare an end user to use an EMR system, two large bodies of knowledge must come together – knowledge of the job and knowledge of the system.

Consideration must be given to workflows, how user interacts with patients, how they use existing systems, how they interact with colleagues – essentially all they need to know, and nothing they don't. Most training is too general and includes too much extraneous technical information. You don’t learn how to drive a car by being taught everything about the engine.

The value and success of an EMR system lies in the hands of the end users. The better prepared end users are to use the system to do their jobs, the sooner the organization will start to reap the benefits of the investment.