How Hospitals In Contingency Mode Can Leverage Time To Get EHRs Right

The phrase “time is money” is credited to Benjamin Franklin, who used it in a 1748 essay, Advice to a Young Tradesman. These words still ring true, especially in the medical profession where time is money for providers. For forward-thinking hospitals, time is also an opportunity to get things right.

Hospitals across the country that are fortunate enough not to be in crisis mode during the COVID-19 pandemic must alter how they look at time. Rather than focusing on surgeries that have been put on hold, hospitals in contingency mode can use this time to tend to business processes that need improvement. Consider, for example, the challenges of EHRs. Workflow and process issues are common problems when working in an EHR, but corrective processes are routinely placed on the back burner because staff are too busy.

Hospitals invest a significant amount of money in their EHR systems. Today’s EHRs are touted for enabling physicians to deliver higher-quality, safer care to patients. And while EHRs have come a long way, more work remains. For early adopters especially, these issues have proven costly, in terms of both dollars and time spent maneuvering around inefficient systems.

As hospitals wait for cases to resume, those who have the chance to use this time and want to improve their EHR are presented with a unique opportunity. Figuring out where to start can be overwhelming, but for clinicians, an excellent place to begin is a review of mental notes such as, “when I get time to do this, I’m going to…”  Taking a tiered approach to addressing EHR issues is most ideal under these unique circumstances.