Allscripts On Call: The Healthcare Podcast

To relieve cognitive load and promote productive workflows, EHR design should center on helping users achieve their goals. UXpert Ross Teague (Allscripts) discusses working with clinical users to determine what these goals are, and designing workflows that truly deliver on those needs. Part 2 of a two-part series.

Efforts to ease clinician burden through EHR design often focus on reducing the number of workflow clicks. But while responses like using smaller font or longer lines of text onscreen save users' physical burden, they can actually increase cognitive burden. UXpert Ross Teague (Allscripts) describes how this influences a user’s workflow and impacts overall performance. Part 1 of a two-part series.

The standards for HIMSS Analytics EMRAM are constantly updating as technologies develop and healthcare organizations adopt them. Solutions Consultant Ellen Loch (Allscripts) talks through the changing standards for 2018, the roadmap for achieving Stage 7 and what steps organizations can take now to continue advancing in EMRAM. 

As systems can store more and more patient information for both individuals and populations, healthcare is uniquely positioned to leverage the “big data revolution”. Dr. Fatima Paruk (CMO Analytics, Allscripts) discusses using big data in healthcare, the distinct possibilities offered by machine learning and AI, and what clinicians can do to manage these in their processes themselves.

True interoperability calls for everyone – patients, clinicians, service providers – to come together for the betterment of healthcare. In the final episode of this series, expert Mike McAfee discusses how interoperability is advancing toward a new healthcare ecosystem, how to drive these changes in individual organizations and where listeners can learn more.

Healthcare tech enables us to gather and use data from a huge number of sources. True interoperability lets us synchronize that data and integrate it into optimized workflows, so it’s readily available at key decision points. Expert Mike McAfee describes how to adapt EHR data to empower and inform endpoint users in creating the best care outcomes. Part 2 of a 3-part interview.

We’ve all been patients. We’ve all experienced needing our information to be accessible and easily available to us, our clinicians and our providers. In this episode, interoperability expert Mike McAfee discusses the expectations patients have for accessing healthcare information, the challenges in reality and the tech framework that already exists to overcome those challenges. Part 1 of a 3-part interview.

Clinicians, designers and organization leaders can work together to optimize the usability of both new and legacy EHR systems. UXpert Carin Mann describes the effectiveness of ongoing user testing and how users are often excited to contribute; how small adjustments in implementation and design can have major impact on outcomes; and how users and vendors can continue the conversation to create usable solutions for the best in patient care. Part 2 of a two-part interview. In episode: A usability and safety analysis of electronic health records: a multi-center study (JAMIA)

Healthcare solutions achieve better results when users contribute, early and often, to the design process. Clinician usability expert Carin Mann discusses how users’ understanding of their own natural workflows gives them insight into data layout, burden relief and prioritization of patient care. Part 1 of a two-part interview.

When clinical software solutions are developed through a cascade process, developers often don’t receive user feedback until it’s too late to make changes efficiently. Julian Mitchell (VP Solutions, Allscripts) describes how to encourage a more interactive process between developers and clinical users, fostering an immediate feedback loop that rewards everyone and building more relevant and functional solutions overall.

While not unique to the healthcare field, burnout is a distinctly frequent and high-impact issue for clinicians. Clinician burnout is characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion, personal detachment and a sense that work is meaningless. Family physician and safety expert Dr. Geoff Caplea describes the interrelated causes of burnout; how healthcare organizations and vendors can alleviate it; and what clinicians can do to advocate for their own health. In episode: The National Academy of Medicine Collaborative on Resilience and Wellbeing

Patients today aren’t patient anymore. They expect convenient service and empowered choice. Digital patient experience expert Jan Oldenburg, active since the mid-1990s, explores how patients are used to being digital consumers in other aspects of their lives, the challenges and frustrations they face in healthcare, and what patients, caregivers and clinicians can all do to create a participatory culture of care that serves everyone involved. Further ResourcesJan Oldenburg’s website, including books Engage: Transforming Healthcare Through Digital Patient Engagement, Participatory HealthcareThe Beryl Institute Society for Participatory MedicineHIMSSAllscripts Patient Experience Resources

As patients discover more options and tools to engage with their own healthcare through tech, clinicians must evolve to continue supporting and empowering them to make the most informed choices. Clinician and IT expert Dr. Jen Bolduc discusses key barriers and solutions for patients today, and building the clinical culture that optimizes healthcare decisions for everyone involved.

Two leaders of innovative health IT solutions discuss strengthening interoperability and improving experiences for clinicians and patients alike. Neil Farish (CEO/Founder Relaymed) and Angela Webster (CTO PatientLink) describe their journeys to developing their solutions and the resources and advice that were key to their success. Recorded at the Allscripts Developer Program Summit.

Physician and serial entrepreneur Sanaz Cordes MD founded Value Prop Shop to provide key services to startups in the healthcare industry. In this episode, she discusses her company’s mission, the unique challenges healthcare startups face and advice for building successful solutions. Find tools and information at Value Prop Shop’s website.