Chapter 18
Ten Problems (And Solutions) You’ll Face
In This Chapter
Prioritizing your EHR needs
Questioning your vendors
Creating a positive training atmosphere
Planning for the long term
We’d love to tell you that adopting, implementing, and maintaining your EHR will be perfect, seamless processes. And for the most part, they can be. The EHR isn’t infallible and neither are we, which means that ultimately, you’ll have problems. Think of this chapter as a little premarital counseling. This chapter details ten possible problems that you face as you research, select, and implement your new EHR.
Pinpointing Your Needs
You see other clinicians’ EHRs and think, “Wow. That could be us.” However, the truth is that those EHRs couldn’t be you because each office, clinic, and hospital has very different EHR needs based on individual circumstances. You must examine your situation very carefully to determine what you need from EHR. The process of making that determination is complex because you must address several issues including, but not limited to
What you want to change about your workflow and the opportunities for increased efficiency
How each stakeholder group, from physicians to patients, needs to interact with the EHR information
What financial improvements you hope to gain from EHR
How you want patient involvement to improve
What errors in charting, communication, and billing/claims you want to improve
After you answer questions like these, you can begin to address your specific ...
