Q: How much resistance was there
when you began to implement the system?
A: Almost everyone understood that we were going to move to an
EHR, so there wasn't a tremendous amount of resistance. As you'd
expect, we had 10% or 20% of people who were early adopters. Then,
as things moved along, a majority got onboard. We also had some peo-
ple who were curmudgeons. The anxiety-provoking part is before you
get started. The hospital did a good job of setting up some training
programs and modules. That helped.
Q: What were the "curmudgeons" anxious about?
A: The prevailing misconception is that it's going to be unwieldy. It's
going to slow me down. Most people don't like to change. Surgeons have
been using a paper chart for 10 or 20 or 30 years and they know where
the progress notes are, where the laboratory data is, and so forth.
Q: Did those fears turn out to be unfounded?
A: Sometimes it's harder to find things. Our software vendor told us
that our workflow and efficiency will decrease for about 4 months as
you begin to use it, and that if you see 16 people in your clinic every
day, the first couple of weeks you ought to see 8 or 9 and then gradu-
ally ramp up.
Q: Were things rocky at the beginning?
A: Yes. The first year you spend trying to learn how to use it. Then, at
about the end of the year, you have an aha moment: Oh my gosh, we
could use this effectively.
Q: Are there other issues you're still dealing with?
A: If the program crashes, you have to have a contingency. We had a
crash about 8 months ago and people didn't know how to bring peo-
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