Electronic Health Records For Dummies

Picking the right training options

The vendors provide a variety of training options for practices and you can pick one method, or more likely a combination of classes, that fit your specific needs. Check out the EHR training menu:

In-person classes: Classes provide the most robust training for you and your staff. A trainer meets with your staff and walks you through the training materials while you follow along on a computer. You decide who attends the classes — a clinical team of nurses, all medical assistants and physicians, a group of physicians, or maybe just one physician at a time. The downside is that these classes are usually the most expensive option, but you’ll have direct access to the trainer to ask follow-up and specific questions.

Remote classes: Designed in a similar fashion as the in-person classes, but the trainer leads a class from an offsite location using Web-conferencing tools. Remote classes are cheaper than onsite training that’s done in person. If you have well-trained super users, it may be a good idea to have a few remote classes for follow-up training (post go-live) or for new clinicians or staff.

E-learning modules: Modules are for individual use and accessed when it’s convenient for the end user. Most vendors have their own modules, and some practices develop their own. You can use these modules to serve a variety of purposes; most of all, e-learning serves as a good approach for supplemental learning:

• Teach basic information about the EHR prior ...