By Rebecca Manne, RN, BSN | VP, EHR Implementation
Super-users, champions, and subject matter experts (SMEs) — these are all terms for vital team members who impact healthcare organizations in all phases of EHR implementations. In my last article on super-users, I discussed identifying and leveraging these crucial team members for EHR implementation, utilization, and sustained success.
Now, let’s focus on how super-users can engage in organizational change and readiness activities. Strong, collaborative super-user teams are integral to planning and readiness strategies and are fundamental for ongoing success.
Why Super-User Programs Are Vital to EHR Implementation
An integrated health record is a “win” for patients and their families and a “win” for healthcare team members. However, the news of an EHR implementation — whether it is a change to an existing program, enhanced or additional functionality, connecting to another organization’s program, or an initial transformation — is anxiety-producing on so many levels.
Thankfully, super-users can help dispel this anxiety and share the vision for an EHR that enhances all aspects of the healthcare experience. Leaders can send a strong message to the entire co-worker base regarding the importance of the EHR by building and supporting a collaborative super-user program. Engaging potential and confirmed super-users as early as possible fosters departmental acceptance and promotes fast adoption.
How to Leverage Super-Users in Planning
Achieving a strong, confident, competent co-worker base begins with strong, confident, and competent super-users. Super-user inclusion in planning and readiness at the outset is vital.
Super-Users are an Extension of Senior Leadership
Start by leveraging departmental super-users as extensions of senior leaders and managers. This builds a strong foundation for the organization’s vision.
Super-Users Translate Communications Into Actions
Use departmental super-users to augment and solidify communications. Remember, they can help translate communications into actions. These actions provide a bridge of understanding for co-workers to realize their role in the successful, meaningful use of EHR functionality.
Super-Users Understand Workflows and Gaps
Super-users are technical experts and team members with a thorough knowledge of workflows. Engaging these individuals in operational and campus readiness activities will help the team identify technical gaps hindering optimal workflow and solve potential risks. They can also provide enhancement opportunities for future state workflows.
Identifying Super-Users Through Campus and Operational Readiness Events
Campus and operational readiness are key events in the initial phases of an implementation. Operational readiness is the opportunity to assess, both from an enterprise level and departmental level, how “ready” the organization is to adopt EHR functionality. Generally, super-users are not confirmed when operational readiness begins, but one of the strategies to plant the seeds of success begins here.
Readiness needs to be considered from both a campus and an operational perspective. Engaging those formal and informal departmental “go-to” individuals throughout readiness activities provides an excellent opportunity to set the stage for the support structure co-workers will leverage throughout all implementation and optimization phases.
Physical campus and departmental readiness assessments must include technical experts who have knowledge of infrastructure, device needs, and placement. They must also include those team members who have a thorough understanding of workflows, can articulate those processes, and are relatable.
These experts who genuinely understand departmental workflows, as well as the dependencies, will be excellent candidates for a super-user role.
Setting a Strong Foundation for Success
Remember, engaging super-users in operational and campus readiness activities will serve several key implementation priorities:
- Identification of technical gaps that may hinder optimal workflow.
- Promote and enhance co-worker engagement and adoption.
- Promote accountability to organizational goals and vision.
- Enhancement opportunities for future state workflows.
- Build engagement through visible departmental responsibilities and activities.
- Support for unified communications and adherence to implementation scope.
- Promotion of a super-user’s role in the organization’s overall vision.
The attention to detail with campus and operational readiness activities sets a strong foundation for implementation success. It will facilitate planning for both expected change management and training needs and unexpected dependencies and build a sustainable chain of communications from departmental co-workers to departmental super-users and managers to senior leadership and key stakeholders.
Schedule a Consultation With Continuum Health IT
Continuum Health IT has the expertise to assist and advise healthcare organizations in all phases of their EHR journey, including foundations for a strong super-user program. We have a team of experts who have held operational leadership roles from clinicians to patient access and revenue, poised to assist your organization in maximizing the talent within your organization. If you have any questions, please contact us — we’re always here to help.