Training Cited as Key Concern Regarding State of EHR Implementations in Healthcare Industry

Joint study by TEKsystems and HIMSS Analytics highlights training and change management as areas requiring greater focus prior to EHR implementation

HANOVER, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TEKsystems Healthcare Services, a leading provider of workforce planning, human capital management and IT services to the healthcare industry, today released the results of a joint survey with HIMSS Analytics regarding health organizations’ readiness pertaining to the implementation of electronic health record (EHR) systems.

“The supply of HIT talent is not keeping pace with the demand - from clinical trainers, builders and consultants to project and program managers. Finding the necessary resources can be a daunting task for many organizations, but one that is essential to achieving a successful EHR implementation”

The survey reveals valuable insights into the status of EHR implementations, the challenges healthcare organizations face and areas of improvement. TEKsystems and HIMSS Analytics surveyed 300 single and multi-hospital organizations and health professionals throughout the United States. Key findings include:

Current State of EHR Implementations

• Only 38.3 percent of hospitals, for example, have surpassed Stage 4 of the HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model ^SM (EMRAM).
• Currently less than half (43 percent) of integrated delivery systems or single hospital systems have completed their EHR implementation.

Achieving end user adoption

• Nearly two-thirds of healthcare professionals (64 percent) believe achieving adoption is a roadblock to a successful EHR implementation.

“Achieving meaningful use and truly improving the quality of patient care can only happen if end users fully adopt a new EHR system in an acceptable timeframe. Organizations expect their people to adapt quickly, yet many do not plan for end user training until late in the effort,” says Allen Kriete, TEKsystems vice president of healthcare services. “Upfront training strategy development would allow for the identification of key competencies and performance indicators. As organizations transition from implementation to day to day operations, any deficiencies in the ability to meet the targets can be pinpointed to either a specific user group, department or globally as indicated by analytics and aligning remediation accordingly. Developing an effective adoption strategy is a critical step that needs to be detailed earlier in the process and carried throughout the life of the initiative. That includes finding the appropriate resources necessary for building, integrating and conducting the training.”

Bringing in the right people and skills

• Sixty-six percent of respondents cite the challenge of finding the right workers with the right skills for the implementation. More than half struggle with finding the right people to build a training program (57 percent) or lead the classroom discussions (53 percent).

“The supply of HIT talent is not keeping pace with the demand - from clinical trainers, builders and consultants to project and program managers. Finding the necessary resources can be a daunting task for many organizations, but one that is essential to achieving a successful EHR implementation,” continues Kriete. “That includes finding the right principal trainers and scaling to meet the overall training and adoption needs.

Conducting an impactful training experience for the end users

• According to more than three-quarters of healthcare professionals, results of poor EHR training implementation include: rework (85 percent), lack of applicability to real-world scenarios (84 percent), low levels of user adoption (84 percent), long learning curves (82%) and inability to leverage the system for meaningful use (77 percent).

“The importance of effective training cannot be overlooked. To avoid these outcomes, organizations must proactively build a customized training program that is led by educators with clinical and technical EHR experience. The training cannot simply be ‘off-the-shelf.’ It should align with the overall organizational goals, workflows, technical requirements and end-user job roles” states Kriete. “One method for ensuring a training program is effective and builds confidence within an organization is to engage end users, those using the system on a day-to-day basis, in the development of the curriculum.”

“In addition to leveraging end users in this process, efforts should be taken to combine synchronous and asynchronous learning methods to foster a learning environment that meets the needs of the adult learner and their hectic schedules and a learning environment that is not bound by space or time” says Von Baker, TEKsystems healthcare practice director.

Including end users in the process

• Overall, less than half of clinical end-user stakeholders are deemed completely engaged in the program; even the trainers for the new system are not fully engaged, with only 59 percent reporting their trainers are completely engaged in the process.

“This study shows the majority of executives and decision makers are engaged in the implementation process, but unfortunately, this is not the case with end users. Giving end users the opportunity to provide feedback during the development of and during the training boosts their sense of ownership and increases their confidence in the system post-implementation,” comments Baker.

Continuing to support end users after go-live

• More than 50 percent of healthcare organizations anticipate end users will need more than six months to adapt to the new system.

“The work does not stop once the implementation is complete. Providing post go-live support is critical to ensure the end users fully adopt the system. Best practice is to create performance support tools for end users to have ready access to how-to reference guides when the needs arise – self service. The right blend of performance support tools depends on the organizations culture, internal drivers (i.e. varied workflows, varied specialties, and geographically dispersed facilities), and available technology. Underestimating the amount and degree of post go-live support can cause a decrease in productivity and performance and increase end-user frustration,” concludes Baker.

TEKsystems Healthcare Services Vice President Allen Kriete is available for additional commentary. Please contact Paul Roberts ([e-mail]) to schedule an interview.

About TEKsystems Healthcare Services

TEKsystems Healthcare Services is dedicated to providing workforce planning, human capital management and IT services to the healthcare industry. Utilizing its suite of services, including EHR Implementation Support, ICD-10 Support and Data Services for BI, Reporting and Data Warehousing, they help healthcare organizations accomplish critical initiatives related to meaningful use, compliance, analytics, network transformation and revenue cycle management. With more than 700 healthcare clients and 7,000 healthcare IT professionals deployed annually, TEKsystems Healthcare Services has the industry expertise to help solve complex clinical, business IT and HIT challenges.

TEKsystems. Our people make IT possible. Visit us online at www.TEKsystems.com.