Providers can also securely text with the care team and link their messages to the relevant patient for maximum context and to protect patient safety. To prevent alert fatigue, advanced EHR optimization technology apps offer greater control so clinicians can subscribe to alerts that are most important to them, such as when a patient spikes a fever or when a consult is available.

Putting the flow back in workflow
When the EHR works like physicians and other clinicians want to work both at a computer workstation and through mobile devices, training is rarely necessary. Clinicians simply follow their intuition and inevitably find the relevant and actionable information they need and deliver the care needed for that moment.
Such a scenario calls to mind a joint paper issued by Harvard Global Health Institute, Massachusetts Medical Society, which found that improving physician satisfaction and giving them a sense of efficacy in their work hinges on improving workflows, managing distracting or unhelpful alerts, and alleviating burdensome documentation processes.

Embedded EHR optimization technology restores the control over the workflow called for in that joint paper. By delivering the right information about the right patient at the right time and the right place, the technology itself becomes invisible, allowing physicians and other clinicians to instead focus on productivity, efficient care delivery, and helping their patients achieve optimal outcomes.

About the author: Doug Cusick is president and CEO of TransformativeMed which makes EHRs easier to use.

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