How to optimise your electronic patient records

Dr Victoria Betton looks at how practice leaders can optimise their electronic patient records for better outcomes 

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Digital Health

A comprehensive electronic patient record (EPR) can save GPs time and generate insights that can be used to plan care, learn and innovate. However, when practices don’t fully resource the implementation and improvement of their EPR, there’s a danger that exisiting software will actually worsen the problems it’s supposed to solve. 

Practice managers may wish to reflect on the following points as they seek to optimise their EPR.

Create an EPR paradigm shift

• Create a shift from seeing the EPR as a mere technology product to thinking of it as a sociotechnical endeavour in order to change how it is perceived.
• Set out how the EPR contributes to the overall goals of the practice so everyone is clear on its value and what is expected.
• Develop a set of meaningful benefits related to the EPR’s contribution to the wider system as a whole.

Resource and organise EPR optimisation

• Put in place the right capabilities and capacity for the social change aspects of the EPR – not just the technological components.
• Create capacity to adapt over time, rather than treating the EPR as a project with a beginning and end because optimisation is a continual process.
• Organise the IT workflow to improve the EPR over time.
• Set clear rules and parameters for EPR optimisation that take into account its place within the wider system.

Create system feedback loops and design with users

• Work with end-users so you are meeting their needs and goals.
• Use data from the EPR to learn about what is and is not working – don’t rely on the most senior person or the person with the loudest voice.
• Create a relationship between the EPR team and the system so you get regular feedback from users.
• Remember that the EPR vendor is part of your system – invest in building a productive relationship with them, rather than a transactional one.

There is no single answer to how to optimise an EPR, but thinking with a constant focus on learning and adapting will help you get there.