Do your workflows work for you? 3 steps for EHR workflow analysis

With optimized EHR use and supporting strategies such as software training and smart hardware choices, your practice can reclaim time and invest it instead. Keep reading for a three-part strategy to EHR workflow analysis and boosting efficiency at your practice.

1. Work as a team to outline EHR goals

Before efficiency issues can be addressed, all stakeholders — leadership, clinicians, and support staff — need to communicate their priorities and establish common goals. What do stakeholders expect or need from the EHR? Which needs are going unmet? Consider these questions in your EHR workflow analysis.

Team members should outline specific workflows that are particularly burdensome or contribute to the after-hours workload. Usability concerns should be discussed with the team to determine whether those issues are global or related to individual preferences. Other workflows might seem cumbersome to clinicians in one area of the practice while providing value for stakeholders in another area. In general, an open, team-based approach helps establish where changes are needed and feasible. 

This is also an important time to discuss any informal system workarounds that clinicians may have adopted in response to EHR workflow blocks.

Although workarounds offer in-the-moment convenience, they can disrupt accurate data collection and potentially threaten patient safety, according to a 2020 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Practice analytics can provide valuable additional insights into key performance indicators and more granular details on how inefficient workflows and informal workarounds might impact the overall health of the practice.  

2. Identify software and hardware solutions

The EHR should never be a one-size-fits-all product. With varied clinician needs in mind, Greenway developed its platforms so practices can customize workflows for all users or make adjustments to meet the needs and preferences of individual clinicians. Regardless of how these changes scale, all users should understand the intended benefits. 

Practices that don’t make full use of additional integrated workflow solutions such as patient portals, e-prescribing, and electronic pre-authorizations also leave money and time on the table. Patient portals give access to patients, while secure messaging tools can reduce the amount of time that care teams spend responding to patient messages. And if your patient intake process still relies on paper forms that must be entered manually, patient intake software can drastically improve front office workflows for in-person or telehealth appointments.  

A look at EHR workflow redesign

EHR workflow redesign refers to the process of mapping out existing workflows to understand how your organization accomplishes tasks. This includes determining how EHRs may help improve efficiency and the quality of care. This process offers these benefits:

• Maximized efficiencies
• Enhanced healthcare quality and safety
• Improvement to care coordination
• Avoidance of chaotic workflows

Source: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

3. Implement strategies for long-term success.

When it comes to EHR and workflow, regular training is a critical tool. A support, training, and resource center such as My Greenway offers online product and role-specific training modules to help users build new skills or do some brushing up. Remote training sessions, on-site training, and Greenway EHR certification are also available.  

Consider working with stakeholders to devise a long-term plan to improve EHR use and staff efficiencies. Small, predictable changes are easier to implement than an overhaul every few years, and much less stressful for clinicians and staff as well.

Clinical best practices change frequently, and physicians are trained to shift their recommendations over time to reflect the best available information. The same holds true for EHR and other technology tools — even though a task or process is optimized to meet today’s needs, the same solution might not be effective in a year or two. But with a working strategy to assess needs and implement change, practices can continue to adapt with the times.

EHR workflow analysis: a recap

EHR software has a reputation for being tedious and cumbersome, with non-intuitive workflows and time-consuming tasks, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Greenway EHR software offers flexible, customizable interfaces practices can use to save time. You can achieve further optimization with integrated tools and investment in additional hardware and software.