EMR systems have become a requirement for many healthcare organizations. However, implementing an EHR requires substantial time and resources.
Efficiency is the ability to produce a greater output from a given input. This can be achieved through streamlined processes and clear goals.
One of the most critical factors in maximizing efficiency is employee motivation. A highly motivated workforce will be able to meet deadlines and provide quality work.
Streamline Your Workflow
The first step is to look at your existing business processes holistically. This will help you determine which areas can benefit from streamlining. Document each process by identifying its purpose and how it runs from start to finish. This includes analyzing each impact on the company’s goals and customers.
Ask the employees who carry out these processes to provide a thorough analysis of them as well. They are the best information source for improvement because they do it daily.
It is essential to give employees time to adjust to automated workflows. Otherwise, they might resist the change, which won’t work as intended. So, consider offering employee training to ensure they understand how these systems will help them.
Automate Your Processes
Using public health EMR is an effective way to streamline and scale processes. This can include tasks like sending patient appointment reminders. This can improve staff performance and help patients avoid missing appointments.
Streamlining manual workflows can also help reduce physician and staff burnout linked to poorer patient outcomes. Additionally, it can cut down on time spent on administrative duties and paperwork, adding to big expenses for healthcare facilities.
In addition, automating processes can help with research projects as it eliminates the need to check and fill in data manually. This is important because data errors can have serious consequences, such as misdiagnosis. By automating these processes, hospitals can ensure the accuracy of their data. This enables them to diagnose patients more precisely and give them better care.
Create a Documentation System
Using a documentation system that allows clinicians to document their work directly within the software can save time. In addition, creating a review workflow where every article is vetted for grammatical errors, factual inaccuracies, and structural mistakes before publication can help ensure the quality of your documentation.
Another great way to improve efficiency in your EMR is by automating your reporting. By sending indicator data automatically from a health facility EMR to the national-level DHIS2 system, you can eliminate manual data entry prone to transcription errors and delays, increase the availability of quality indicator data for use at local, subnational, and national levels, and reduce the reporting burden on facility staff.
EMR optimization eliminates unnecessary work that detracts from patient care and improves workflows.
Automate Your Reporting
Reporting is a vital part of any agency. However, manually tracking and updating reports can be a time-consuming task.
Having the ability to run a query once and have it automatically update for all users in one place is an excellent way to reduce the time spent on this process. Similarly, scheduling delivery or email at specific times is an easy way to streamline the sharing of reports within the team.
This eliminates the need to create individual reports for each user and saves time for data teams and their clients. It also allows them to focus on analyzing and sharing data with their clients; the number one way agencies show value to their customers.
Track Your Performance
To ensure your EMRs are optimized, you’ll need to track the performance of each of the functions. This will help you identify areas that can be improved by comparing them to the industry average. This can be done through various means, such as surveys, email, meetings, etc.
Clinicians should also be tracked to understand their performance in your facility, especially about their EHR. This can help you find ways to reduce their workload by redirecting messages or using other Team-Based Care techniques. This can reduce clinician burnout, a significant contributing factor to poor patient outcomes and high turnover rates.
