For many clinicians, electronic medical records (EMR) have made their workflows more efficient and enabled better patient care. EMR offers everyone on a patient’s care team access to a complete and legible medical history. But EMR software was never meant to do everything. If you’re experiencing these common EMR limitations, we’ve outlined methods to help fill the gaps.
EMR platforms work best when they integrate well with other systems. Unless you’re using a system that operates with order management, electronic document management, and other systems, you’ve probably had issues with your EMR.
Since EMRs were initially designed for patient documentation in a single facility, they may not facilitate ideal order management. You may find that your orders are disappearing, and you have to resubmit them or contact the physician to track down your order status.
When you’re using an EMR to attach and send forms, they can bounce. Sometimes, your documents can disappear altogether.
As a caregiver in home health or hospice settings, your time is valuable. You don’t have hours to spare configuring an EMR that doesn’t work the way you need it to. You’ve likely created workarounds to manage the gaps in your system while treating patients.
Your clinicians and admin team members might rely on paper notes or Excel spreadsheets, which leads to duplicated data entry.
When your physician order management system isn’t working, you likely use the phone for authorizations. Unless you follow up with a written confirmation, you won’t have a paper trail proving that a physician signed off on the order.
When clinicians or administrative team members can’t access electronic documents through the EMR, they might share an encrypted drive or physical paperwork. In these cases, the documentation on your document management system becomes outdated. If you’re transferring a patient or coordinating care, you could fail to pass on critical information.
Unless your EMR successfully performs all the necessary functions, it won't improve your workflows. A successful EMR is compatible with other healthcare systems that fill in the gaps.
WorldView Healthcare offers multiple solutions that integrate with your EMR to provide valuable tools that improve workflows:
A well-built system will offer consistent data sharing through a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform. Everyone on your team will be able to access the latest patient documents, even from the field. A good system will also integrate with scheduling and billing software, so your team doesn’t manually enter data into multiple systems.
As a medical agency owner, or clinician leader, you probably know if your EMR system has gaps. Your team may complain about heavy administrative workloads. Alternatively, you might notice that they spend a significant amount of time on administrative tasks that the EMR should be automating.
Not sure where gaps exist in your system? Start by asking your clinicians for feedback about your systems. Ask questions about how they use automations and whether these tools are useful.
Do a detailed workflow analysis to identify critical gaps in your workflows. Visually map the process from patient intake to discharge to see where your team is using workarounds. As you interview team members, ask them about their training on the software. Some gaps exist because you touched on the software and left the team to figure out the details.
Stop relying on tedious and ineffective workarounds to fill in your EMR gaps. You don’t need to replace your whole system, you just need tools that work with the platform you’re using.
Plugging the holes in your EMR with WorldView’s solutions will help make your team more efficient. They can spend time treating patients instead of tracking down physician signatures or missing forms. Your agency will position itself to provide high-quality, coordinated care faster. In home health and hospice, starting treatment can make the difference between a preferred patient outcome and hospital readmission.
Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn how we can help.