To assist facilities with introducing and acclimatizing physicians and other practitioners to the new technology-driven environment in which they increasingly find themselves, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has put together a helpful primer.
Understanding the Challenges
According to the AHA, achieving digital transformation comes with a certain set of innate challenges. It is assumed that technology will enable the streamlining of workflows and enhance the analysis and management of data. But new technologies aren’t always easy to grasp, especially for staff who haven’t quite gotten over their preference for rotary phones. So, there needs to be corresponding strategies on how to best allow the hospital’s human assets to understand and maximize these innovations. To this end, the AHA has suggested the following strategies:
- Refreshing educational materials and approaches.
- Updating workflows and clarifying roles to ensure that processes change with the needs of end users.
- Aligning return-on-investment goals with the broader organizational strategy.
- Engaging front-line managers and informatics teams in their software purchases and rollouts.
- Rigorously vetting and testing new technology for patient safety and workflow compatibility, while focusing on enhancing the user experience to avoid electronic health record (EHR) documentation burdens on clinical staff.
Continuous Training
With new innovations, machines and gizmos, education will need to be not only provided but ramped up. In order to maximize the efficacy that new technologies can potentially provide, the hospital’s workforce—including its clinicians—will need to be brought up to speed on how to push the right buttons and read the right indicators. That means providing regular and meaningful training sessions for those who will be accessing and leveraging these digital wonders.
As an example of this priority on training, the AHA provided a few case examples:
- Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Leaders used change-management techniques during a major expansion and EHR system implementation. Staff from across the organization were selected to bridge the gap between the project team and their peers, helping to translate high-level project information into practical, day-to-day guidance for their co-workers. They also met regularly to exchange ideas and report issues to the change-management team.
Leaders also held dress rehearsals to prepare staff, setting up real-life simulations of the new EHR system. Staff practiced using the system and new processes before the actual launch. This helped employees understand what to expect and reduced anxiety. It also allowed the hospital to identify potential problems, like incorrect user settings, before the system went live. This led to smoother transitions and more positive attitudes during major organizational changes.
- Inova Health System in Falls Church, Virginia. Before launching a virtual nurse program, which involved new technology for much of its staff, the leaders held a two-day “innovation accelerator” event focused on nurse efficiency and well-being. This involved the nursing team helping to shape the program’s standards, which encouraged staff members to embrace changes, support a new virtual nurse care model and increase mobile app use for medication administration.
- Kaiser Permanente. The managed care consortium found that addressing nurse perceptions of EHR use was as important as optimizing the actual time spent on documentation. Its nurses felt overwhelmed by EHR use, even though data showed they spent less time in the EHR than average. With the understanding that perception of workload affects stress levels and job satisfaction, leaders showed nurses personalized report cards highlighting EHR time relative to patient loads. They directly communicated with overwhelmed clinicians, building connections and showing them data that proved the value of their time spent documenting.
Anecdotal results showed improved nurse satisfaction and better adaptation to new processes, especially among new nurses. Leaders mentioned that empathy, support and clear communication about the benefits of new tools helped promote engagement.
So, here we are. We live in a time of rapidly expanding innovation. For those in the healthcare sector, ignoring these new tools and technologies is no longer an option. Hospitals are getting up to speed with the latest and greatest gadgetry and capability. It is incumbent on their decision-makers to ensure their staff members and care deliverers are not just keeping up with the Joneses but keeping up with the Jetsons.
For more on the AHA’s strategies for acclimatizing hospital workers to the digital revolution, please click on the following link: 2025-Health-Care-Workforce-Scan-Executive-Summary.pdf.