General EHR Tips

EHR Tips

 

  • Appoint a physician champion whose job is to educate and train physicians on their EHR and work with the organization and EHR vendor to improve technology

  • Emphasize continuous EHR training 

  • Utilize personnel within the organization and from the EHR vendor 

  • Personalize your EHR as much as possible 

  • Get assistance from IT/Clinical Informaticist, if applicable 

  • Set up shorthand specific to your speciality (EX: PAD autocorrects to Peripheral Artery Disease) 

  • Use shortcuts to reduce number of clicks 

  • Delegate tasks to team members that allow team members to work to the top of their license 

  • Ex: medical students can do patient call backs, spend extra time counseling patients after the visit, and help look up information 

  • Use team documentation, including medical assistants and scribes 

  • Use voice recognition/dictation software for charting 

  • Train the software to make it most effective when you’re using it 

  • Redesign how emails go to your inbox, filtering emails to other members of the clinical team or filtering out unnecessary emails, as appropriate 

  • Document what is medically necessary and complete without adding extra information 

  • Use short phrases, not paragraphs 

  • Take notes in the chart in the exam room  

  • When appropriate, have labs or X-rays done before the visit so results can be discussed during the appointment 

  • Use electronic patient questionnaires for the review of symptoms or other common scenarios

External EHR Resources

 

 References for EHR Tips:

1. Medical Economics Staff. EHR usability for physicians. Medical Economics. https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/top-challenges-2021-5-ehr-usability. Published January 11, 2021. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

2. O’Donnell HC. Ehrs contributing to physician burnout; what you can do to reduce frustration. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.aappublications.org/news/2019/10/01/wellness100119. Published October 1, 2019. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

3. Berg S. 5 simple changes to help cut doctors' ehr burdens. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital/5-simple-changes-help-cut-doctors-ehr-burdens. Published April 30, 2021. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

4. Four tips to help you spend less time charting. AAFP . https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/spend_less_time_on_charting.html. Published October 10, 2019. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

5. Reddy S, Rippey PC, Cuenca AE, et al. Seven Habits for reducing work after clinic. Family Practice Management. https://www.aafp.org/fpm/2019/0500/p10.html. Published June 1, 2019. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

6. Six EHR documentation tips to save you time. AAFP . https://www.aafp.org/journals/fpm/blogs/inpractice/entry/ehr_documentation_tips.html. Published July 20, 2020. Accessed October 27, 2021. 

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