Implementing a new EHR can feel like a daunting project. 

When it goes right, implementing a new EHR can save your organization time and money while improving the quality of care you deliver to patients. When it goes wrong—look out! Your revenue cycle, productivity, and patient care all take a significant hit. 

Choosing the right program, investing time and money into the change, training staff, and modifying workflows are all big pieces of the implementation puzzle. With so many moving parts and so many opportunities to get it wrong, it’s no wonder that up to 70% of EHR implementations ultimately fail. 

Today, let’s look at the top 5 reasons most addiction treatment EHR implementations fail—and what we can learn from them.

EHR Fail #1: Lack of Training or Support 

Expecting staff to use your new EHR system with minimal training and support is a recipe for disaster. Many EHR providers simply aren’t backing their products up with the human support addiction treatment providers need. 

At BehaveHealth, we make ongoing training and support a priority. We offer a free, three day long in-person training or a free, five day long web-based training for your entire team. We can also do individual training sessions via video conference for those who need a little extra help. We’ve never had a user come back for retraining because we’ve designed our tools to be simple and intuitive to use, even for technophobic users.

EHR Fail #2: Choosing the Wrong Tool for the Job 

There are hundreds of EHRs to choose from in the medical field. They all claim to be able to handle addiction treatment clients, but can they really? The answer is: sort of. And if you’re ok with an EHR that “sort of” works for your industry, then you’ll have an easy time finding an EHR to do that for you. But if you want an EHR specifically designed for your business with all your familiar workflows set up right out of the box, you’re going to have to look harder. 

BehaveHealth specializes in EHRs for the addiction treatment industry. It isn’t just “sort of” the right tool for the job, it’s exactly what you need to run an addiction treatment organization.

EHR Fail #3: Neglecting to Get Patient and Staff Buy-In 

Most people don’t respond well to being told to do something “just because.” Your staff and your patients are no different. Tell them why you’re implementing a new EHR and how it will benefit them specifically. Underscore the improved connectivity, ease of use, and open communication the EHR will bring to the treatment experience. Involve staff in the planning process and keep the lines of communication open by inviting feedback and suggestions for the implementation period. Coach staff on how to talk to patients about the new EHR and offer a sample “script” for addressing any concerns. Consider explaining how the new EHR will support program engagement, improve treatment outcomes, protect privacy, and create an easier bill pay process.

EHR Fail #4: Poor Implementation Planning 

Who will lead the implementation? When will the implementation occur? How many phases of implementation will there be? How will you measure the success of the implementation? What will the review process look like? 

You need to know the answers to these questions before you dive into an EHR implementation. Too often, addiction treatment providers attempt an EHR implementation with a half-baked plan and no designated implementation leadership team. Don’t be that organization. 

Get a team together and map out every step of the process. If you need help with this, just ask! We’re happy to help you develop an implementation plan tailored specifically to your organization.  

EHR Fail #5: Bad EHR Design 

Even with the best implementation plan, a poorly designed EHR will always be a failure in action. A well-designed EHR should be easy to use, require very little training, and feel logical and intuitive to all users—even the ones who aren’t crazy about new technology. 

Always test drive your chosen EHR before you commit. 

Ask various staff members of different technological aptitudes to give it a go and listen to their feedback. Is it easy to use? Is the layout pleasing? Does it feel useful? Their answers will tell you a lot about the design of the EHR..

Turn Other People’s Failures into Your Success

Understanding the potential pitfalls of EHR implementation helps you avoid problems when the time comes to roll out a new EHR at your organization. There’s a lot that goes into planning an EHR implementation, so it’s natural to feel overwhelmed by the process. If you haven’t signed up for your free trial of BehaveHealth’s all-in-one software solution for addiction treatment providers, do that today. If you’re ready to start planning your switch, reach out to us so we can help you develop a plan that will work for your organization.