Congratulations on your purchase of that shiny new electronic health record for your office. You've made your decision and your expectations are high. However, your work is just beginning.
The difference between an efficient, harmonious, computerized office and computerized chaos is all about implementation. You owe it to yourself to sit back for a few minutes and take some time to think about how you, your staff and your office will function with this new system. It is useful to think that your office will not just be computerized but you will be implementing a complete health information technology system. If you think in terms of the new system and how everything works within the system, success is much easier. Good luck, everything is about to change!
Over the next few months, continue to keep in mind and work toward the primary goal: an office with no paper charts. This is the prime directive, and all good things flow from this accomplishment. Certainly there are other accomplishments such as efficient workflow, elimination of wasted steps and improved office communication but none of this can happen if the paper charts are not eliminated. We continue to live in a "paper based world" and many strategies will be needed to deal with the great amount of paper coming into and flowing from your office.
Implementation 101