I used to believe that proper training sessions are not too important in order to get accustomed to the functions and usability of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). According to me, watching a hand full of video tutorials should always suffice. However, it was until recently that I was made aware of the opposite stance. It was a discussion with a Health IT consultant, Keith Smith, which helped me understand the significance and concept of EHR training.
No doubt, physicians are well aware of the benefits of Electronic Health Records. They know that it would help them in reducing their costs, achieve government’s allocated financial incentives, enhance efficiency, and ensure patient safety. However, it is only through proper EHR training that physicians can get their hands on the aforementioned objectives.
“I know a number of physicians who complain about not achieving optimum outcomes through their EHRs, sometimes they even go to an extent of blaming the EHR vendors for that. However, be it the physician or the vendor, it is the lack of proper EHR training that results in such a situation”, says Keith Smith.
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On one hand, it is important for physicians to realize that EHR training is a step by step procedure which might take some time, while on the other hand, vendors should understand that adopting a new technology is not an easy task for everyone. It would always be more prolific to train physicians on the basic features and functionalities of electronic health records rather than inundating them with advanced level concepts. While the former would help physicians comprehend the application, the later may frustrate them. According to recent surveys, it is through gradual training that physicians have learnt to use electronic health records efficiently.
“The idea of getting familiar to basic features, initially, makes complete sense to me. I will give you a logical example, while learning how to drive; I would obviously want to learn about the basic controls first rather than getting into the details of how a GPS system etc works”, says Keith Smith.
Another mistake on part of the vendors is the failure to understand the concept of learning curve. While it takes some physicians to get trained in a few days, others might require more time. Hence, following an appropriate pace while training, undoubtedly, is a recommendation for trainers.
Nevertheless, it is also important for physicians to equally participate during the EHR training. As the lack of participation would not only obstruct learning and but also hamper proper implementation of the application – eventually failing to produce desired outcomes.
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The writer is a leading Health IT analyst contributing regularly on some of the most pressing topics like Electronic Health Records, Practice Management, eRx, Patient Portal, Billing Services, Compliance and Privacy and Security.
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