Top 10 2019 Arch Collaborative Case Studies

The Arch Collaborative has worked hard in 2019 to distill the experiences of member EHR users into usable insights. Here’s a rundown of 10 of our most-visited Arch Collaborative case studies along with brief summaries.

1. SWAT Program – MaineHealth implemented a SWAT training program with the focus of providing extensive training and personalization. The success of this program relied on impartial evaluations about EHR satisfaction before training. This allowed MaineHealth to focus on their clinicians’ key needs. Trainers shadowed the clinicians to see actual use and evaluate in-practice aptitude. The training used a provider-to-provider tone as opposed to the impersonal IT tone that is typical of many support experiences.
2. Impactful Governance – Peninsula Regional Medical Center assembled an effective governance structure capable of assessing the needs of their clinicians and correcting course as needed to ensure that staff members are proficient with the EHR. Success was made possible by putting together governance councils that were inclusive and representative of the clinicians at the site. Diverse ideas allowed for discussion about a variety of solutions to key problems. The councils were also key in the implementation of proposed solutions via rounding. Above all, the councils developed productive relationships with each other, fostering trust, respect, and solid teamwork.
3. Informatics – A Joint Effort – Geisinger created lines of support for their clinicians, setting up access to physician and nurse informaticists. Having both physician and nurse informaticists was a key to success so that anyone calling on support could get specific help. Frequent interactions with these informaticists were also key. Fewer long meetings and more short huddles to keep an ear to the ground and respond to needs as they arise helped the program work.
4. Consistency through Governance – WVU Medicine put together a governance council focused on monthly meetings to make workflows consistent across all locations. The council was successful given a couple of factors. First, the council made sure that end users could present their cases when making proposals for changes. The on-the-ground perspective allowed for actual problems to be met by actual solutions. Second, the governance council leveraged digital-meeting technology to allow members in various locations to integrate the meetings into their workflows more smoothly.
5. A Model for Improvement – OrthoVirginia worked hard to improve a lackluster EHR satisfaction score through perpetual training programs. They learned that providers often do not have the time to teach themselves about all aspects of the EHR. Helping the providers master the EHR through consistent and accessible training helped improve EHR efficiency and patient care. The more invested clinicians were in their training and using the EHR, the mor satisfied they became with the software.
6. A Directive to Improve the EHR – Lehigh Valley Health Network dedicated resources to making the EHR more efficient. This effort was led and executed by medical informaticists. Program success relied on dedicating time to the program as a part of job responsibilities and not adding tasks to busy schedules. Lehigh Valley dedicated .3 FTEs in their medical informaticists’ time to EHR improvements. This team of informaticists also used rounding to conduct on-the-ground research and work on actual physician issues. Lastly, the medical informaticists assigned this work were EHR experts with an advanced understanding of the tool. These people stayed up to date on release notes and functionality education.
7. Provider Representation – WakeMed made strides in governance and fighting burnout by ensuring that clinicians had representation in and support from their leadership team. Success was made possible as representative leaders were appointed. These leaders understood the burden imposed on the clinicians by the EHR and were rational advocates on their behalf. Associate CMIOs were empowered to focus their time on pain points as identified by the physician representatives. These efforts optimized the EHR for patient-quality and -safety goals. The implementation was set up to deliver a positive feedback loop to show frontline staff members that their feedback was received and valued, impacting change.
8. Combatting Opioid Misuse with Technology and Governance – WVU Medicine innovated both governance and technological solutions to combat the rampant opioid epidemic in their area. The technology in the solution accessed multiple PDMPs for both their state and surrounding states. Additionally, opioid checks were streamlined into existing workflows and made relevant so that clinicians were aided by the addition, not inconvenienced. From a governance standpoint, both operations and IT formed an effective partnership to make sure the technology build met the reality and needs of the situation.
9. Building Effective Best Practice Alerts – Novant Health created a process for designing best practice alerts to aid physicians instead of interrupting them. This project succeeded by being flexible and adjusting implemented alerts if they did not meet goals or accomplish intended ends. This project also required strong teamwork in which people collaborated without formal meetings or scrums.
10. Training for Beginners and Advanced Users – Novant Health implemented a training program to better engage EHR users. This training program was based on principles of flexibility and accessibility. The curriculum changed as alterations to teaching materials that produced better results were implemented. Novant Health also made sure that training was accessible in and out of classroom-style settings.

KLAS published a total of 21 case studies from various Arch Collaborative members throughout 2019. To see the full list as well as case studies from 2018, I recommend heading over to the Arch Collaborative Learning Center.




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