Every good cook knows that a finished meal is only as good as the ingredients you start with, and the same adage holds true for EHR implementation, a messy recipe if ever there was one. While adapting an EHR might seem like a complete departure from everything your office is used to, the basics of how well you’re going to use your new software are already deeply embedded in your paper-based workflow. Ensuring that your clinical documentation, patient interactions, and administrative processes make sense on paper is a vital step to successfully bridging the divide when your EHR comes online.
“If you don’t have a solid handle on your paper-based documentation, converting to any EHR system can very well turn into a frustrating – and costly – nightmare,” cautions Chiropractic Economics. “After all, it’s the existing paper-based documentation that your office staff will be entering into the EHR system to serve as a basis for input of future patient case management and diagnostic data.” Without clean, organized, standardized patient history data to input into the EHR, you won’t be able to make the most of your new investment. “It will be the consistency and completeness of your current paper forms that make the ultimate conversion to an EHR in the future a success.”
Before starting to use an EHR, practices should conduct a thorough workflow assessment that describes current habits in detail. This includes taking stock of your paper-based forms: the fields most often used and most often ignored, the areas of duplicated effort, and what might be falling through the cracks. While EHR templates can be customized to reflect what providers already do on paper, you should be wary of trying to exactly replicate your pen-and-paper clipboards if the EHR can do something better, quicker, or easier.
A comprehensive assessment can also aid in reducing or eliminating the need for a hybrid situation that increases the chances of errors. If you know exactly what you need to integrate into your new EHR, you are less likely to need to grab a pad and scribble down a note that doesn’t quite fit into your EHR templates. The truly paperless office may not be yet be possible, but having a solid grip on what you’re starting out with can ease the transition into your EHR. Source
