By Rebecca Manne, RN, BSN | VP, EHR Implementation
Super-users, champions and subject matter experts (SME’s) — these are all terms for vital team members who impact healthcare organizations in all phases of EHR implementations. Healthcare leaders and managers should have specific team members who come to mind immediately that they believe will serve well in this role.
Super-users are the co-workers who consistently communicate potential departmental workflow improvements and/or barriers, troubleshoot, champion departmental performance improvement and are the “go to” people for both new and experienced staff. Learn more about these crucial team members and how you can leverage them for your organization.
Why Super-Users Are Crucial to Your Organization
During all phases of an EHR implementation, engaged super-users across all positions — providers, nurses, front desk support, therapies, radiology, pharmacy, and beyond, play such an important part in full engagement and consistent use of approved workflows.
As a result of our post pandemic realities of staffing shortages and budget constraints, now more than ever your super-users are critical to the ongoing success of safe, efficient and effective workflows. In both outpatient and inpatient settings, super-users are key to maintaining those workflows based on approved EHR build ensuring that all expected downstream outcomes — referrals, results, claims, and billing — are realized.
When onboarding new staff across all areas within your organization, your super-users are the key to ongoing mentorship to their departmental peers with respect to utilization of approved workflows, communicating any instances of “workarounds” that may result in negative impacts to patient care, remediation for team members who are resistant or challenged in following approved workflows.
How to Identify Super-Users
Any super-user should exemplify these key traits:
- Clear and consistent communicator.
- Approachable with ability to interact in a calm and professional manner.
- Firm grasp of departmental workflows (simple and complex)
- Ability to troubleshoot and categorize issues based on criticality.
- Willingness to mentor and coach team members.
- Understanding of departmental/organizational vision and goals.
- Embraces change and process improvement.
How to Leverage a Super-User Program
Organizations that have made a strong super-user program a priority will continue to excel through the challenges of staffing shortages and budget constraints. Reinforcement of workflows, departmental continuing education, prioritization of issues and potential optimization, cross departmental communication and collaboration are characteristics of strong super-user programs. These characteristics are also instrumental in promoting both the recruitment of new staff and in retention of existing staff.
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 to maximize the talent within your organization. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us — we’re always here to help.