Clinicians’ affinity for technology is another obstacle, albeit an intangible one. Evidence shows that clinicians’ comfort with technology has a correlation to burnout status. The higher their competency with technology, the greater their appreciation for its value – and as a result, less burnout. Providing shiny, new technology without a thorough understanding of the unique needs and challenges of clinicians further complicates the situation.
Tips for Your EMR
Learning and skill development are part of an intrinsic process that requires motivation. If clinicians are to learn a new digital health solution proficiently enough to sustain a change in behaviour, they require support to help them understand their own gaps and needs. Clinicians maintain a wealth of knowledge in their clinic and patient data. However, retrieving knowledge from this data is either overlooked or difficult to do. Using Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) to unlock this valuable insight can serve as the strongest motivation for clinicians to gain new skills to address their challenges. By revealing the value of this data to clinicians and coaching them on how to leverage it, we can empower them to better understand and use digital health technology.
Typically, EMRs have a series of prebuilt reports that clinicians can refer to for details about their data. While these reports may not meet the needs of some clinicians, they provide great insight on the inner workings of a clinic, specifically gaps in patient care. For example, a report showing that 60% of diabetic patients missed HbA1C tests for over a year could indicate they either missed their appointments or lab results were not forwarded accordingly. Understanding the reason behind inaccurate or incomplete data may help to determine if the issue is related to use of technology or workflow challenges.
Most EMRs also provide additional features (free or at a cost, depending on the EMR system) that allow sophisticated users to build reports using relevant data mining tools, as needed. Using these features may require more skill with an EMR. Novice EMR users should consider user portals as a good resource for similar reports as they may have already been created and/or shared with peers. There is always the option of seeking assistance on how to build reports with tailored data and insights from more advanced users.
Another suggestion on how to get the most out of EMR usage is to create and monitor benchmarks to ensure a good return on the investment of time and resources. Referring to the earlier example report on diabetic patients, EMRs would help to connect the dots between the report and subsequent diabetic follow-up meetings. Extracting this information from EMRs can also help to monitor the efficacy of intervention strategies and overall progress.
Lastly, reports from external sources, such as local and regional health organizations, can serve as a great resource to validate the reliability of EMR data. They can sometimes provide patient and clinic insights that are not available in EMRs. For example, a narcotic usage report, in conjunction with EMR prescription records, can give clinicians a better understanding of a patient’s narcotic consumption as well as the narcotics-prescribing pattern of community medical providers.
OntarioMD
Change, especially technological change, can be daunting – but Ontario clinicians are not alone in this.
At OntarioMD, our mandate as a subsidiary of the Ontario Medical Association, with funding from the province of Ontario, is to support clinicians and practice staff in adopting and using digital health technology to care for patients. This includes providing:
- Advice on change management when incorporating digital health tools into their practices.
- Assistance with EMR adoption, best practices, and usage enhancements, from A to Z.
- Integrating EMR with provincial health-care applications for informed decision-making.
- Support and guidance from OntarioMD Advisors as well as Peer Leaders (physicians, nurse practitioners, clinic managers).
The most important takeaway is that each clinic faces its own set of challenges – what works for one clinic may prove fruitless for another. Through their indispensable data, EMRs can serve as a catalyst for change by helping to identify a clinic’s pain points and empower clinicians to determine solutions at the same time.
Dr. Reza Talebi is a practice engagement manager and Dr. Chandi Chandrasena is the chief medical officer at OntarioMD. The organization can be reached at support@ontariomd.com and can work with you to analyze your EMR data and pain points to arrive at solutions for your practice.
Source: The Medical Post, February 2024 Issue (sign-in required)