EMR Blame Game

A recent article in Pharmacy Times EMR sited discrepancies in the cause of patients not taking their medications correctly. This occurs when many different medications are prescribed. The regimens of these medications are not consistent. For example, a drop may be required 6 times a day, a pill may be prescribed for 2 times a day and another drop is called for 3 times a day.

The study sited was published in the January 2016 issue of Clinical Ophthalmology, the researchers from Boston University of School of Medicine were trying to understand why people do not take their medications as prescribed. The researchers sole intent was to point the finger at the EMR from the very beginning of the research. As stated “The researchers were concerned that prescribers might find it difficult to update EMRs with medication changes, causing the records to be incomplete and accurate”

This is a training issue not an EMR issue. Education is essential to the achievements of a healthcare professional. This is reason CME credits are needed each and every year. When people are trained in a professional manner they come away refreshed and ready to try out their new skills, therefore perhaps its most positive benefit is better healthcare providers. A hospital or clinic must develop the potential of doctors and nurses, and part of the way to encourages improvement is through training. Often, good training is just as important as a good benefits package for an employee.

After the official training has been complete the way to create a community of excellence is to create user groups and super users. These people are the official go to people for help in a situation where there is a problem with workflow or usability. Here at BlueWare we have provided “just in time” EHR training online, on-demand training and webinar.

Schedule individual training for those who really need it (like ultra-busy physicians who can’t come to regular training sessions) these individuals often need one on one training as we did at Genesys Health System with our deployment of the Wellness Connection the first EMR used in Ascension Health System in 2001. The most important thing is to hold these sessions during times that won’t interfere with clinical work so that they can focus and can concentration and do NOT do it during lunch or in the evening. The people you are training need these breaks to refresh. It is always a great idea to provide food. If a clinical professional is stuck or needs help it is critical to find out the root cause and deal with it right away. Most importantly the heart of every system is the people and people need to be respected and educated.

The goal is to have patient information available to anyone who needs it, when they need it and where they need it. But only if it is correct, remember, garbage in garbage out.