Tag: transitioning to a new EHR

How To Improve Staff Confidence During A Transition To A New Urgent Care EMR System

By Christina Boyd, vice president of client solutions, DocuTAP.

Christina Boyd

Switching to a new EMR is never easy and can be a real challenge for urgent care providers. However, when the current system doesn’t align with your practice’s goals, you’ve got to take the plunge.

Leadership may see the benefits, but getting the staff on board can be more difficult. This is perfectly understandable, since they’re the ones in the trenches every day and learning to use an entirely new system can be daunting. To make the transition successful, the support of staff is crucial.

In the best-case scenario, staff will not only support, but also understand how their lives will actually be easier after the switch. And therefore, it is up to leadership to set the tone by providing insight into the why and how weeks before the actual change is made. The question is: What are the specific steps you need to take to get staff to buy-in?

Choose technology wisely

A smooth transition begins with choosing the right solution, so it’s important to find a solution that’s intuitive and user friendly – in essence it should work just like the technology the staff uses as consumers in their daily lives.  Take the time to make sure it’s the right solution to prevent a subsequent change, and your confidence will trickle down.

Prepare and plan

There is no substitute for good preparation and planning. Know and communicate the plan for pre-launch training, go-live and post implementation support because the unknown is often a source of anxiety. If everyone on staff knows the process and the plan they will be more confident in managing the change.

Additionally, knowing how to discuss the change with staff is critical to effectively lay out the vision. What you are changing and why? How will this change impact each person? How will success be measured? At the end of the day, employees need to understand why the new technology is an improvement – not an inconvenience.

Choose a physician champion

Find one physician that believes strongly in the vision for the practice and the value a new EMR solution will bring to the clinic. The entire team is more likely to get on board if they hear the enthusiastic support of a respected colleague.

Start at the top

Urgent care owners know their staff best, so foster this personal relationship and secure the support of team leaders first. Start by asking them what they see as top challenges for the organization when it comes to the EMR or other technology used and allow them to offer solutions. Think about their roles and responsibilities and approach them individually to talk about how the change will affect their work life. This approach shows leadership recognizes the unique challenges each team member will face, and it matters to them.

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