We’ve got a long way to go before information technology solutions at the frontlines of health care fulfill their enormous potential. The suboptimal, clunky and cumbersome design of most IT systems is responsible for much misery among physicians and nurses on a daily basis. Part of the problem is that hospitals and clinics have rolled out these solutions rapidly and somewhat haphazardly to fulfill meaningful use requirements and gain much-needed federal incentives. Having said that, there’s reason for some optimism ahead, as a movement gains steam to improve on the current situation.
While we are awaiting those “dream solutions” of the future, here are three immediate changes that can be made to the design of our electronic medical records and order entry systems:
1. Click analysis. Conduct a thorough audit of how many clicks and screen interfaces it takes to perform any given task (start with the most common ones such as electronic progress notes and simple medication ordering). This needs to be done with full input and feedback from frontline clinicians. In almost all instances, significant reductions can be made in the number of clicks required to do any specific thing.
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
No comments:
Post a Comment