Give Before You Get: Helping Physicians Adopt New Scheduling Software
Posted by Amy Engebretson on Thu, Mar 10, 2011 @ 04:30 PM
Show them benefits they will love and can start using right away.
As a trainer, I occasionally hear “This is great for me, but what about my doctors? If they would just use this, we would all save even more time!” Fortunately, I also hear from many schedulers who share how they were able to bring their Providers “on board” by doing a few simple things within their organization.
Help them remember: If a username,password is required, consider giving Providers reminder cards containing their username and initial password, along with the Log-In url address for them to bookmark in their browser. Passwords can always be changed later. Remember, some physicians may need help “bookmarking” the login site.
Give them a Buddy: Consider having a local advocate/guru available for help should they prefer to consult local staff vs contacting the vendor. No matter how friendly and available the vendor, some physicians prefer in-person help. This may be especially true with regard to iCal subscriptions and SmartPhone use.
Bring out the “Geek” in them: Often a little help given early in the implementation process to your most “techie” physician(s) will help spread the use of the software amongst all of the physicians.
Work-Life Balance: Instead of leaving someone a message at the office, encourage physicians to make Provider Requests even from home. Because our physician scheduling software is entirely on-line, all the time, it’s easy to make such requests immediately after the family discussion. This ability brings a sense of control and peace of mind into very busy family lives.
Unexpected Bonus! Introduction and use of easy-to-use on call software can pave the way for more complex implementations such as EMR. Feeling successful using software that is important in a physician’s daily work-life balance can carry over to the more complex learning and teamwork needed for installing EMR.