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How healthcare organizations can learn from their implementation efforts<\/h2>
Implementing an electronic health record is a complex process, one that\u2019s difficult to get right. It\u2019s also a long process that offers opportunities to take knowledge learned during the process to use it for current or future projects. Hayes Management Consultants suggests healthcare organizations can learn from their experiences during implementations to fill in gaps in functionality and optimize the EHR on the fly.Hayes suggests that with planning and foresight, healthcare organizations can capture working knowledge in a \u201clessons learned\u201d document that can help them make the leap from a merely functional EHR to a fully optimized one. Hayes research suggests that 73 percent of EHR implementations fail, demonstrating the importance of learning throughout the implementation process. Here are the steps to follow.<\/p>

The overall strategy to optimization<\/h2>
EHRs should help achieve clinical optimization, which improves patient care through better system utilization, efficient work processes and better training of staff. The purposes behind this effort are to better meet regulatory requirements, increase the ROI on a technology investment, and provide higher quality, cost-effective care. In this continuous quality improvement process, key ingredients are evaluating and educating staff; reviewing and improving workflows; and analyzing and leveraging EHR capabilities. Toward these ends, documentation of the process is key.<\/p>

1. Plan to gather and use lessons<\/h2>
Unless an organization intentionally decides to gather the lessons learned from an implementation, they won\u2019t provide any value-added to the ongoing phases of a project. \u201cThis is especially important in projects with continuous rollouts to multiple facilities using a \u2018standard\u2019 EHR product,\u201d according to Hayes.A \u201clessons learned\u201d collection and documentation are normally defined deliverables of any managed project. <\/p>

2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>
From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

3. Don\u2019t just file away the findings<\/h2>
In many projects, lessons learned are only seen as part of the closing phase of a project. They\u2019re collected and documented, and then often times filed away and never reconsidered. But to gain real advantages from the lessons, they must be used on an ongoing basis to optimize future or current projects, to reduce redundant work, and save time, money and resources.<\/p>

4. Require clear communication among team members<\/h2>
Ensure that an implementation team understands and knows how to identify important lessons and why they\u2019re so important to the organization. \u201cToo often, smaller details fall to the wayside during project implementation because team members don\u2019t understand how important the little things can be and how they can be leveraged in the future,\u201d Hayes says in its research.It\u2019s more than just identifying what isn\u2019t working or outlining the negatives of the project\u2014it also important to highlight what\u2019s worked and should be duplicated in the future to meet organizational goals. \u201cThe document should be considered a continuous quality improvement tool,\u201d Hayes says.<\/p>

5. Establish ownership of the process and delegate responsibility<\/h2>
Those in charge of an implementation must decide who will be responsible for the ongoing process of gathering information and documentation. Leaders should assign a key team member as the keeper of the \u201clessons learned\u201d document. Delegating a single owner or keeper of the document also eliminates confusion over who is responsible for data gathering and gives everyone a \u201cgo-to\u201d person whenever a new lesson is learned.<\/p>

6. Set the scope of information to be gathered<\/h2>
Information should be collected not only from the project team, but from all teams, stakeholders and subject matter experts connected to a project. \u201cInvolving all relevant parties ensures a collaborative and thorough effort to collect the information and fosters a sense of ownership over the process and project,\u201d Hayes says.<\/p>

7. Have clear requirements<\/h2>
The implementation team and its leaders should specifically define the parameters around lessons learned, including when they should be collected, how they are to be documented and who bears the responsibility for periodically reviewing them.\u201cBecause lessons learned are part of quality improvement, they should be viewed as an integral process throughout the entire lifecycle of a project,\u201d Hayes says. \u201cThey should be finalized at the close, and reviewed at the beginning and during any subsequent project. Clearly define the requirements for including events in the document, ensure that everyone is contributing and collectively establish milestone review points.\u201d<\/p>

8. Be militant about studying the lessons<\/h2>
The process of documentation is helpful. But to truly optimize an EHR implementation, it\u2019s crucial to refer again and again to the \u2018lessons learned\u2019 document. \u201cThrough constant evaluation, you will ensure that the best practices have been saved and future projects will benefit from the most important lessons learned,\u201d Hayes concludes.<\/p>

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How healthcare organizations can learn from their implementation efforts<\/h2>
Implementing an electronic health record is a complex process, one that\u2019s difficult to get right. It\u2019s also a long process that offers opportunities to take knowledge learned during the process to use it for current or future projects. Hayes Management Consultants suggests healthcare organizations can learn from their experiences during implementations to fill in gaps in functionality and optimize the EHR on the fly.Hayes suggests that with planning and foresight, healthcare organizations can capture working knowledge in a \u201clessons learned\u201d document that can help them make the leap from a merely functional EHR to a fully optimized one. Hayes research suggests that 73 percent of EHR implementations fail, demonstrating the importance of learning throughout the implementation process. Here are the steps to follow.<\/p>

The overall strategy to optimization<\/h2>
EHRs should help achieve clinical optimization, which improves patient care through better system utilization, efficient work processes and better training of staff. The purposes behind this effort are to better meet regulatory requirements, increase the ROI on a technology investment, and provide higher quality, cost-effective care. In this continuous quality improvement process, key ingredients are evaluating and educating staff; reviewing and improving workflows; and analyzing and leveraging EHR capabilities. Toward these ends, documentation of the process is key.<\/p>

1. Plan to gather and use lessons<\/h2>
Unless an organization intentionally decides to gather the lessons learned from an implementation, they won\u2019t provide any value-added to the ongoing phases of a project. \u201cThis is especially important in projects with continuous rollouts to multiple facilities using a \u2018standard\u2019 EHR product,\u201d according to Hayes.A \u201clessons learned\u201d collection and documentation are normally defined deliverables of any managed project. <\/p>

2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>
From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

3. Don\u2019t just file away the findings<\/h2>
In many projects, lessons learned are only seen as part of the closing phase of a project. They\u2019re collected and documented, and then often times filed away and never reconsidered. But to gain real advantages from the lessons, they must be used on an ongoing basis to optimize future or current projects, to reduce redundant work, and save time, money and resources.<\/p>

4. Require clear communication among team members<\/h2>
Ensure that an implementation team understands and knows how to identify important lessons and why they\u2019re so important to the organization. \u201cToo often, smaller details fall to the wayside during project implementation because team members don\u2019t understand how important the little things can be and how they can be leveraged in the future,\u201d Hayes says in its research.It\u2019s more than just identifying what isn\u2019t working or outlining the negatives of the project\u2014it also important to highlight what\u2019s worked and should be duplicated in the future to meet organizational goals. \u201cThe document should be considered a continuous quality improvement tool,\u201d Hayes says.<\/p>

5. Establish ownership of the process and delegate responsibility<\/h2>
Those in charge of an implementation must decide who will be responsible for the ongoing process of gathering information and documentation. Leaders should assign a key team member as the keeper of the \u201clessons learned\u201d document. Delegating a single owner or keeper of the document also eliminates confusion over who is responsible for data gathering and gives everyone a \u201cgo-to\u201d person whenever a new lesson is learned.<\/p>

6. Set the scope of information to be gathered<\/h2>
Information should be collected not only from the project team, but from all teams, stakeholders and subject matter experts connected to a project. \u201cInvolving all relevant parties ensures a collaborative and thorough effort to collect the information and fosters a sense of ownership over the process and project,\u201d Hayes says.<\/p>

7. Have clear requirements<\/h2>
The implementation team and its leaders should specifically define the parameters around lessons learned, including when they should be collected, how they are to be documented and who bears the responsibility for periodically reviewing them.\u201cBecause lessons learned are part of quality improvement, they should be viewed as an integral process throughout the entire lifecycle of a project,\u201d Hayes says. \u201cThey should be finalized at the close, and reviewed at the beginning and during any subsequent project. Clearly define the requirements for including events in the document, ensure that everyone is contributing and collectively establish milestone review points.\u201d<\/p>

8. Be militant about studying the lessons<\/h2>
The process of documentation is helpful. But to truly optimize an EHR implementation, it\u2019s crucial to refer again and again to the \u2018lessons learned\u2019 document. \u201cThrough constant evaluation, you will ensure that the best practices have been saved and future projects will benefit from the most important lessons learned,\u201d Hayes concludes.<\/p>

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2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>
From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

2. Train staff to document the process<\/h2>
From the beginning of the project, train staff to develop a living, ongoing document of hiccups, processes that could be expedited, or mistakes that could be avoided in the future.<\/p>

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