Rethinking Approaches to Technology for Clinicians
The EHR can be a pain point for many clinicians, beginning with the initial training. Dr. CT Lin, chief medical information officer at UCHealth in Colorado and a 2023 HealthTech IT influencer, said that clinicians at his organization previously had to sit through hours of classroom training.
“We had 20 to 30 learners at a time, and everyone was at a different pace. No one was happy with the pace of training,” said Lin. He added that he was not surprised that the EHR was only being used at 15 to 20 percent of its capacity. “Classroom training had been a disaster even though it was a required element,” he said.
The situation led leaders at UCHealth to rethink the classroom experience and deconstruct training.
“We took eight hours of content and blew it apart,” Lin said. “Now we do self-paced learning.”
The training process begins with a half-hour setup period with a coach to ensure that the clinician can navigate the basics of the program. That is followed by one to three hours of self-paced EHR simulation training, an hour and a half of advanced specialty customization with a coach, and up to two hours of self-paced “pothole training,” when a clinician spends more time on areas in which they feel less confident.
“The clinicians don’t have to sit through eight hours. They can skip what they know and review what they don’t.,” said Lin, who added that clinicians said that they preferred self-paced learning and reported feeling more prepared to use the EHR.
To complete the training, UCHealth has added “road signs” to the EHR to provide quick refreshers and just-in-time knowledge training as clinicians use the system.
EXPLORE: Four ways to improve mobile device management and reduce clinician burnout.
IT and Clinician Collaboration Is Key to Successful Tech Implementation
At the Guthrie Clinic, senior vice president and chief digital officer Terri Couts said her team got excited about implementing MyChart Bedside and purchased iPad devices for every bed. However, no one was using the devices.
“There wasn’t a single activation,” she said. “So, we had to go to the floor.”
Her team discovered that the iPad devices were plugged in at the end of the beds because that is where power plugs are located. The patients had no idea the devices were available, and the nurses didn’t know how to navigate the situation. Couts said that because her team didn’t involve and educate nurses about the technology or ask the users questions, the implementation failed.
“It didn’t matter how awesome the technology was,” she said.
The organization learned the importance of listening.
