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Tip: Analyze work flow for a smooth transition to EHRs

EHR Connection, December 17, 2007

Work flow changes are inherent in any transition from paper records to an EHR system.

Documenting your current work flow on paper can help you anticipate those changes and better prepare for them. Charles Parker, vice president and chief technology officer at Masspro in Waltham, MA, suggests focusing on five main areas:

1. Patient flow: Consider how you move a patient through an office from scheduling an appointment through check-in upon arrival and continuing through to check-out.
2. Point-of-care documentation: Focus on documentation related to deliver of care and analyze how your process for entering orders will change when you implement an EHR system.
3. Office Communication: Consider how staff will communicate with each other after EHR implementation. For example, determine how to indicate a patient is in an examination room when you no longer have a paper chart on the door.
4. Document management: Formulate a plan to process paper such as referrals and laboratory results that still exist post-implementation.
5. Chart abstraction and migration: If scanning the entire record is cost prohibitive, determine which information you'll abstract and which information you'll scan. Determine which information is most essential and decide who will perform these tasks.

   This tip is brought to you by the December issue of Electronic Health Records Briefing.

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