When implementing complex health IT systems like EpicCare or Care Everywhere, it’s vital to ensure that the training materials queued up to serve end users are appropriate for busy clinical users. No one wants to pour through dense, hefty training guides that resemble textbooks...and read almost as painfully. While EHR and health IT solution vendors like Epic provide some off-the-shelf materials to facilitate end user training, we find that our health system clients often do well to incorporate their own “flavor” of training materials to suit their staff optimally. Incorporating internal branding is one thing, but streamlining the content of training guides (in whatever medium) is key for delivering materials that will aid in adoption while minimizing confusion and downtime associated with Epic implementation.

Click here to read part one of Creative Solutions to EHR Training Challenges.

You might spend more on technology than training when implementing a new EHR or upgrading an existing system, but the effectiveness of your training may influence the return on your investment more than the capabilities of your technology. If your team doesn’t fully realize the benefits of the new technology, then you will not maximize your ROI. Creating an effective training program is key to increasing efficiency and productivity. In part two of Creative Solutions to EHR Training Challenges, we continue with creative solutions #3 and #4.

You might spend more on technology than training when implementing a new EHR or upgrading an existing system, but the effectiveness of your training may influence the return on your investment more than the capabilities of your technology. If your team doesn’t fully realize the benefits of the new technology, then you will not maximize your ROI. Creating an effective training program is key to increasing efficiency and productivity.

A successful EHR training program accelerates adoption, increases efficiency and improves care.

So common are the traits shared by such programs that you may know many of them already. You have probably even implemented well-known best practices like assessing computer skills, training super-users and managing staffing levels. These will help you maximize your return on your investment in your new EHR by producing benefits like those that we covered at the outset.

EHR training shouldn’t end with go-live.

Thorough, ongoing training is essential for maximizing the return on your investment in your electronic health record system.

EHR training can strain budgets, stress users and squeeze your healthcare organization’s resources. But none of this has to happen.

You don’t have to stretch to hire enough trainers or struggle to schedule enough sessions, nor do you have to scramble to get ample space for all of your training.

Healthcare organizations are turning to virtual EHR training because of the affordability, efficiency and effectiveness that it offers. You can also minimize productivity losses, improve adoption rates and increase the return on your investment in your new EHR system by allowing users to participate in online, instructor-led training.

For the 12th episode of our Monday Morning Healthcare IT Podcast Series, Tom is joined by Shantra Moore, Jason Huckabay and Stephen Tokarz, HCIs Director of Training and Activation, and Senior Vice Presidents of Operational Delivery, respectively. They discuss two of the newer, more unconventional methods of ongoing new hire EHR Training: on-the-floor training and eLearning. In addition, they cover cost considerations for both, why outside resources are so beneficial to their success, and advice for organizations who are preparing to conduct ongoing new hire training.

For the 10th episode of our Monday Morning Healthcare IT Podcast Series, Tom sits down with Stephen Tokarz, HCI's Senior Vice President of Operational Delivery. Tom and Stephen discuss what goes in to developing a curriculum, online training, using your LMS, and organizing your credentialed training program during an EHR training project.

Training environments can get out of sync when training for an EHR Go-Live, due to changes in test environments and production. You will want to make sure that both your patients and your end users are being taken care. Making sure that your end users are comfortable during your EHR Training project can go a long way in contributing to its success.

For the fifth episode of our Monday Morning Healthcare IT Podcast Series, we take a call with Chelsea Wyatt, our Director of Epic Services here at the HCI Group. Tom and Chelsea will be going over some key strategies and cost considerations that healthcare organizations should be keeping in mind during an Epic upgrade project.