How OptimizeHIT Can Help Smaller Practices With EHR Training

Despite the obvious benefits to utilizing EHR technology - more efficient record-keeping processes, time and money saved, improvements in patient care - many physicians, particularly those whose practices don't have an information technology department, are slow to adopt new systems.

There is a high initial financial investment required, but more importantly, it is difficult for many healthcare providers to obtain enough training to achieve meaningful use of the new technology.
A company called ImplementHIT, led by physicians and experts in clinical and medical informatics, has come up with a solution to this problem.

Their patent-pending software, called OptimizeHIT, can help smaller healthcare organizations to implement EHR technology, and achieve meaningful use guidelines, in a self-paced e-learning environment.

The program is based on ImplementHIT's training program that is already being used for hospitals and large healthcare organizations, but OptimizeHIT is specially designed for small practices with 20 or fewer doctors. The program promotes usage of some of the more advanced functions of EHR technology.


By learning how to achieve meaningful use of the new systems, physicians and their staff can avoid lost productivity, and be sure they are utilizing the software to its fullest potential.

The low percentage of physicians that have adopted EHR technology has made experts question whether healthcare professionals are effectively participating and engaging in all of the functions of EHR programs.


OptimizeHIT is designed to ensure that they are, by helping practices to customize the training content offered to fit the needs of their organization.


One of the best features of OptimizeHIT is that the training sessions are web-based, which allows physicians and their staff to access the trainings whenever and wherever it's convenient. "Doctors can participate from home, at their leisure.



For the providers, that's one of the absolute best benefits," said Jim Garrity, chief information officer of the Tucson Orthopaedic Institute (TOI). "They are seeing value in the education. Coupled with the cost effectiveness of the online learning, this is putting TOI on track to save hundreds of hours of training time for providers alone."


"The biggest impediment to meaningful use is meaningful education. We see evidence of that in the very small percentage of hospitals and practices using the advanced features of their EMR, like computerized physician order entry (CPOE) with problem based order sets, electronic charge submission and prescription transmission," stated Dr. Jimenez, a former clinical director of content and online training for Allscripts, a popular EHR/EMR program developer. "These features are critical because they enhance workflows, and lead to the significant healthcare quality benefits promised by EMR vendors."