EHR Customization

During the whirl-wind of an implementation there are so many issues that need to be addressed that customization seems to take a back seat. Many organizations make the mistake of implementing all of the pre-delivered notes,views and security classification groups without ever looking back to see if they have utility to the organization. Then, only after a multitude of complaints about the application from often disgruntled providers, questions start to arise as to how the EHR can be improved for the benefit of its users.

This article is dedicated to covering some of the many changes that can be made to the EHR which will eliminate clicks and increase efficiency for all users.

Customizing the Note Authoring Workspace (NAW)

When thinking of ways to improve the NAW consider the end users current workflows during a patient visit. Are they constantly navigating out of the note to work on things or see things that they could have handled from within the NAW? If the answer to this question is "Yes", then end users are wasting valuable time attempting to navigate the system instead of spending it on patient care. To avoid this, consider making the following changes:

• Add additional tabs so that the end user has less clicks to get to flowsheets. This is done in TWAdmin, under WorkdefAdmin>Add/Edit Note View>Note.

• Define Buttons to match the workflows that are used. The end user should not have to search for buttons that they use with every patient. Add buttons that add value to the workflows and remove those that wont. This is done by clicking "define buttons" > Commands, then drag and drop the button to the toolbar. This is done on a per tab basis where this functionality is available.