STEPS TO SUCCESS #3
Identify a Physician Champion — Lead from Within
Having a physician champion in your practice is crucial to successful transitioning to an EHR. The physician champion keeps the office focused and positive, is a proponent of the EHR, and makes sure that any problems with implementation get resolved. By engaging a respected member of your team who has great enthusiasm and communication skills, the initiative will garner support and obstacles will be more easily overcome.
Because the physician champion will lead the project, it’s best if their increased responsibilities can be offset with a reduced clinical workload during the transition.
Don’t rely exclusively on the physician champion — they need support, too. Surround them with a core team made up of clinical staff, administrative staff, a physician, a project manager, and a network analyst. Let the physician champion delegate duties to this team.
Plan for regular core team meetings — every week or two — to keep the implementation on track.
The core team will:
- Create a vision for the practice’s EHR use
- Determine realistic project objectives
- Determine approach to decisions such as data transfer and go-live strategy
- Ensure accountability for those objectives
- Assist clinical staff in modifying their workflow
- Create a training curriculum
- Generate enthusiasm and buy-in