This module covers clinical decision support (CDS) and how these tools are embedded into electronic health records (EHRs). We’ll go over common types of CDS such as alerts, preventive health reminders, configuration of order sets and calculators. When it comes to clinical decision support, there are CDS committees at a hospital or health system level that are responsible for reviewing the way CDS is functioning in practice. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists and analysts serve on these committees. Each organization has its own governance structure and meeting schedule for these kinds of groups. When there are issues that arise, these committees are decide how best to modify the CDS to ensure that the EHR is helping providers provide the best care. They also make decisions around what alerts should fire for providers, and what exclusions should be applied to limit alert fatigue. We’re providing you with this perspective so that you understand that not all issues related to the EHR can be addressed by the help desk, level 2, level 4 or even application specific teams. During this module, you’ll also be introduced to technical terminology related to databases, servers, and interfaces.
Training, Communication, and Change Management
Now that you’ve been oriented to electronic health records, clinical decision support, and databases, we’re going to cover the importance of and process of training end-users in healthcare. You’ll see a scenario where a health IT trainer teaches a clinical end-user about the process of logging in, getting authenticated, and looking up patients. You’ll want to be familiar with roles of super-user, application specialists, and system trainers. The EHR database structure is complex and there are many different environments that exist in order to ensure that users can be educated appropriately. Applications in health IT are frequently undergoing updates, so you’ll want to be familiar with the different training environments and how data can be migrated. We’ll also cover the change management process involving EHR upgrades and importance of effective communication, significant preparation, and downtime procedures.