Your most valuable resource is your skilled workforce, which is why investing in and optimizing training can maximize the efficiency of your IT resources. It goes without saying that effectively well-trained employees often make better use of technology, leading to cost savings and improved productivity within their organization. In addition, trained employees can streamline processes, identify inefficiencies, and ensure your technology investments are utilized as intended.
Within the healthcare industry, how well our resources are effectively trained can make or break patient outcomes. Just as medical doctors, nurses, and other technicians require countless hours of classroom and hands-on training, so do our IT departments. Without optimized training at each level of your health system, you cannot fully ensure that it operates to its fullest capacity.
Handfuls of health systems every year upgrade their electronic health records (EHR), which requires training and at-the-elbow support. They are challenged with providing high-quality training for their employees while also balancing budget restraints. This limitation makes the essential process of training even more stressful, highlighting the need for efficiencies and training optimizations.
Here are five steps every healthcare training leader should take to optimize their training strategy:
1. Consider a training partner.
A training partner can pinpoint your organizational training goals and then analyze your current state of EHR training. The time and resources that it takes to train employees on a new EHR system are quite robust, not allowing your employees to efficiently dedicate time to daily tasks and training. Choosing the right EHR training partner can help you evaluate your options and ensure that your organization’s goals are not put on hold.
2. Implement Blended Learning.
Blended learning is an approach for training and developing individuals, accommodating different learning preferences and needs. This type of learning reduces classroom time, allowing your team to focus on more hands-on, real-life experiences. Over time, we have found that complimenting the traditional learning management system (LMS) courses with at-the-elbow support has proven to be the most effective way to train employees and encourage knowledge retention and self-sufficiency.
3. Implement an automated training schedule.
Implementing cloud-based systems enables you to create, monitor and analyze training—saving time, money and resources throughout the entire scheduling process easily and efficiently.
4. Perform a comprehensive training analysis.
Have your training partner analyze your current training by focusing on areas such as curriculum, training team job scope, requirements, logistics, and processes. Training partner recommendations can then create an optimized training plan which results in improved workflows, staffing efficiencies, cost reductions, and increased revenue opportunities.
5. Share your results.
Your training partner can be an invaluable piece in providing a proposal of the optimization managed services identified—prioritized by the highest ROI action items—and work with you to develop and implement them. What is the end result? A training plan you can count on that will not only lead to happy, confident employees, but help track inefficiencies, improve workflows, and increase revenues.
Are you ready to propel your teams learning forward and create your own winning EHR training scenario? Come discover how HCTec’s training optimization experts can lead the way! Contact one of our EHR training experts here.