Posted By Amanda Girard On December 9, 2021
How to Train New Employees in your EHR when you‘re Busy
How can you train new employees in your EHR when you are already short staffed, busy, and trying to keep up? COVID-10 has exacerbated turnover in the healthcare industry. Remaining staff have little time to dedicate to training new staff members. There are several training strategies you can use. With a plan in place, you can re-build your team and get caught up.
Use Documented Workflow and Processes to Train
Use process-based training to train new employees in your EHR. This will teach best practices for utilizing the EHR with your specific workflow. For example, train new employees in your EHR on how you provide clinical summaries for patients. Or train on the steps your office takes when filing programs and billing reports in your EHR. Keep your workflow and processes documented for this. Make sure this documentation is accessible on a computer drive or in a binder. Keep it up to date as your processes change over time. This will serve as a great resource guide to train new employees in your EHR.
Get your Super-Users to help with Training
When implementing your EHR system, you should have designated super-users. Super-users are staff members that work with patients or the EHR system daily. These individuals are gifted in both service and technical skills and know how to use it in many roles. Your super-users should train new employees in your EHR because they can offer tips, advice, and help in many areas of the system. If you have not already, evaluate your team and choose some. Your super-users can keep existing staff trained on EHR system changes or updates as well.
Focus on Role-Based EHR Training
Train new employees in your EHR with role-based training tailored to their responsibilities. Your user groups (e.g. – clinical providers, office staff, IT support staff, etc.) have different features they use on a daily basis. Only train them on those areas of the EHR they will need to use to perform their duties. The only staff who should learn the program in many areas are your super users. Training on the system based on roles shortens learning times.
Take Advantage of your EHR Vendors Training Resources
Use the educational materials your EHR vendor provides. These could include training manuals, online instructions, or video tutorials. Many vendors offer these online and only require login information. These are very helpful resources to train new employees in your EHR as they do not need extra work from you.
It is daunting to train new employees in your EHR during a pandemic when staff shortages are at an all time high. Existing staff may be new due to high turnover rates also. This can leave even fewer experienced EHR users to help train new employees. By incorporating these strategies, you can make the most of your training resources. Then your new staff members will be ready to assist you as quickly as possible.
About Patagonia Health
Patagonia Health is proud of our awards for customer service over the last 6 years. We commit to providing excellent staff training upon implementation. Then we continue to offer training videos and educational resources after. We work with your team to establish best practices for the EHR system based upon your unique workflow. We are also committed to continual innovations to support Public and Behavioral Health. We understand your pain points and provide an EHR to ease those, including solutions for staff shortages. Contact us if you would like to learn more.
