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Use Information Technology Effectively Staff training is key BY ROBERT KURTZ
A
n ASC that wants to capitalize on its investment in information technology (IT) has to invest in train- ing staff to operate the new system, says Matt Petty, senior vice president of IT for Surgery Partners, a nation- wide operator of surgical facilities based in Nashville, Tennessee. “Our staff use computers in some capacity on a daily basis,” says Bar- bara Plansinis, RN, administrator of the Wentworth Surgery Center in Somersworth, New Hampshire. “Not only are patient records main- tained electronically, we also have our schedule, reports and inventory as parts of the system.” As a result, the ASC places a high priority on ensur- ing that staff are comfortable and pro- ficient with those systems. When the ASC added its electronic
medical record (EMR), several team members were trained by the software vendor as “super users” over a multi- day program. “Our super users have been integral in training new staff and assisting with troubleshooting,” Plan- sinis says. “We are able to create ‘test’ patients in the system that allow staff to practice using the EMR.” When the EMR undergoes a major upgrade, super users are trained on the changes first. They then teach the remaining staff. A similar approach is followed when an employee takes on additional responsibilities requiring the use of an unfamiliar component in the system. “These employees work with a senior staff member to learn that component and then use the IT program regularly until they become proficient,” she says. Most ASC staff are likely to require
some level of training to become com- fortable using IT, Petty says. “I tend to find there is a good 10 percent of peo-
Make sure you are getting the data output you are expecting. You would hate to find out downstream that there was a key process you assumed was being performed but was missed by a new user.”
—Matt Petty, Surgery Partners
ple in what I would call the ‘power- user’ category. These are early adopt- ers who tend to pick up how to use systems quickly on their own. The other 90 percent are all over the board in their skills.” This requires ASCs to deter-
mine the different levels of IT ability among staff members, he says. “Do not assume that someone older is more likely to struggle to adapt while some- one younger will be faster. The age is not the limitation. Rather, it is the will- ingness to learn.” Staff at Wentworth Surgery Cen- ter who are less comfortable using IT are allocated additional training time, Plansinis says. “We try to tailor the training to meet the needs of the employee and have also provided indi- vidual one-on-one education.” Surgery Partners uses live and recorded webinars to help train staff in their ASCs, Petty says. “If a facil- ity of ours brings on new staff and we
26 ASC FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2017 |
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cannot get out to train them as fast as we would like, we have that ability to provide staff with access to our reposi- tory of recorded sessions. They can watch them at their leisure, either as a refresher or an overview to start the learning process.”
The use of documentation, such as “quick guides,” can help with training, he says. “These guides may focus on the core tasks staff need to know to start using the system. That would at least provide a baseline understanding that may help them learn the remaining tasks over time.” To help ensure staff continue to
use their IT tools, Petty recommends closely reviewing reports for accuracy. “Make sure you are getting the data output you are expecting. You would hate to find out downstream that there was a key process you assumed was being performed but was missed by a new user.”
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