SMA EMR Program launches Enhanced Use Program

January 2021 saw the launch of the SMA EMR Program’s Enhanced Use Program. The EMR team is excited that their vision – to help physicians make optimal use of their EMR – has come to fruition. Physician response and participation have been tremendous!

With more than 80% of Saskatchewan physicians utilizing an EMR, the SMA EMR Program determined that its focus must shift from supporting the adoption of an EMR to working with physicians on optimizing their EMR use. In speaking with physicians, the program’s Practice Advisors (PAs) found that many were frustrated and saw the EMR as more of a hindrance than a help in their practice. As well, many physician groups have identified the EMR as one of the leading causes of physician burnout. As a result, the Enhanced Use Program was born.

To take part in the Enhanced Use program, you will first need to complete an EMR Progress Assessment (EPA). This online self-assessment will help determine your current and desired levels of EMR use. The tool will ask you to assess your current usage based on 10 key measures, spanning three functional areas of the EMR.

Based on the results of your self-assessment, the team will work with you to create an action plan using a template developed by Practice Advisors using information from interviews with physicians. This action plan will outlines your goals, training needs, supports, and actions required to achieve the desired outcomes. Once consensus is achieved on the proposed plan, the PA will support you throughout your enhanced use journey.

You are eligible to be reimbursed up to $3,000 per physician (please refer to the details of the criteria on the EMR program website) for the time and effort required to complete an EPA and a follow-up action plan.

The Enhanced Use Program includes a portfolio of services designed to help you and your team make optimal use of the EMR. Fluency Direct, a self-editing dictation software, is one such service. It includes everything you need: hardware, software, first-year licensing costs, training, and support. Feedback has been positive and Fluency Direct is proving to be an optimal solution for many physicians. To date, we have deployed Fluency Direct to more than 500 physicians and counting.

The Enhanced Use Program also includes a Peer Program. This provides you with ready, no-cost access to a network of physicians and office staff who can provide training and workflow suggestions. Peers host a regular webinar series on a range of topics. These webinars have been recorded and are available on our program’s website.

The EMR team is excited to work with you to determine which of the Enhanced Use initiatives is the best fit for you. Please reach out to us at emr@sma.sk.ca to get started on your optimization journey.

Your journey, your way!

Testimonials

Dr. Mandi Nel

All these tips and tricks increased my productivity significantly. Every time we had an evaluation, I would state the problem that I am facing and then we would work together in developing practical and easy-to-use solutions. The support staff are extremely knowledgeable and very eager to help. Examples of improvements that I have made:

• Adjusting my personal dashboard: I have easily accessible icons that make frequently used forms/documents accessible with one click, without the need to scroll down a list of documents;

• Optimizing billing capture with minor changes to appointment booking templates

• Improving macros within the system

• Understanding and utilizing the tracking function

• Understanding the cohort list function

• Able to better build queries and get usable information from the EMR to build on quality improvement

Dr. Lane Rathgeber

With my limited experience, I implemented several easy ways to improve efficiency:

• Saving ‘favorite’ prescriptions and naming them in a way that makes them easily accessible for future use.

• Creating macros for frequently used phrases in documentation.

• Setting a default recipient for those forms or requisitions that have only one possible recipient.