The recent surge in health IT has helped change the EHR market dynamics. With countless innovative companies joining the fold, competition is rife amongst vendors despite the emergence of specialist products. Factors such as cost efficiency and product usability are the driving forces behind EHR adoption and in order to cash in, vendors must be able to offer flexible designs that suit provider requirements. “Generic, rigid designs do not sell in the healthcare industry. Most vendors are able to offer comprehensive electronic health records today. Hence, most providers distinguish products based on features such as application design, flexibility and speed”, says one health IT consultant.
Usability plays a decisive role in provider decision. Simplistic interfaces are more likely to be considered for adoption over technical and complex designs. Cumbersome designs are likely to cause frustration amongst staff and decrease overall productivity. While EHRs are commonly expected to aid administrative tasks such as billing through information compilation, providers tend to experience the brunt of the documentation process. “It is the providers who enter the clinical information, be it vitals, diagnosis or procedures. Whereas the other administrative users can then generate reports and fulfill the remaining workflow based on that information”, says one Nurse Practitioner.
Ironically the reason most physicians adopt electronic health records is to improve the practice’s clinical productivity. The new breed of interoperable EHR solutions can reduce workload by utilizing connected medical devices to populate patient records, so providers can fill out the remaining information according to their preference. This is why the next best thing to a bespoke solution is a customizable EHR. Most established EHR vendors offer customizable templates based on provider preferences. Physicians who would for example prefer free typing to drop down menus and checkboxes should be able to design their templates accordingly. Providers are also able to specify screen details and quick links that may enhance the documentation process. However, it is preferred not to go all out as it may result in loss of structure and sacrifice quality. Detailed customization also takes time and may not produce the same results as anticipated by the provider. It is often advised to look at reference screens of other clients before exploring the customization possibilities.
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