Of course here with my blog I spend less time out in the field than I used to, but let me tell you there is nothing better than time in the field for a good learning experience. That is still what gives me direction today. When you work as a partner with a physician to create a solution there’s a lot of listening and change going 
on constantly. In this business it helps to know it from the bottom up. With so many software systems and network configurations out there today I am still explaining to folks we have long passed Windows 95 and 98, but those two operating systems changed the way we function with PCs, as after Windows 95 came out, we all wanted one a home and some of those processed that people learned in the early days are still there, which is not a bad thing, I just can no longer answer a question of a couple sentences like I used to, it’s more complicated.
When it comes to EHR systems it is almost very hard to create “training standards” with all the various vendors we have out there today and different software programs. Again, as mentioned in this article, there’s a lot of money be thrown this direction which is a good thing, but will the proof of concept deliver? This is what we are looking at, a concept that is well financed.
One Hell of a Training Program Needed – The Bottom Line to Success in Health IT
I had an off the cuff discussion not too long ago with an individual who does medical record training at Kaiser, my curiosity at work here. He said it took time and it is something you grow with, not only the clinical staff but the trainers too. There are upgrades and system changes that take place and he’s in training a bit of time so he can go out and train. He also stated the difference in addressing different departments, personalities and the challenges. Some are more open and catch on quickly and some have a lot more questions and need more time. Also while he’s out there he gets questions and suggestions for improvement, so that’s all part of the job too, not just running a classroom experience.
Being this is healthcare there’s a lot of variables and the word “change” is upon us daily. Kaiser is unique in the fact that they anticipate some of this and have an innovation department that helps solve a lot of problems and issues before they occur and systems are implemented. Being a non profit they can do this and invest in their personnel rather than fighting for the bottom line dividends all the time. He’s also a patient and loves the PHR they have. Within a few hours he can pull up his lab results by logging on when he gets home. Last year I chatted with Chris McCarthy from the Kaiser Innovation Department, and learned quite a bit about how they look at the future and anticipate technology and issues before they arise. This model is also being used by the NHS and other hospital groups.
Innovation and Learning at Kaiser Permanente – Interview With Chris McCarthy
Back on target here, these are the types of individuals that help make it work as it’s not as simple as running a “training army” out there to carry out commands, and you have to be ready for that new left hook that will throw you off balance every day, it’s there and we need to live with it. This is probably why many of the CIOs feel they are not staffed the way they would like as they work with technology and understand this fact and it comes back around to the same old thing I say all the time “hands on experience” coupled with knowledge creates better value and gets the job done and we end up with better healthcare all the way around.
As a whole and a nation one big battle we face all the time is participation with what I call “Magpie Healthcare”, educated individuals working from a “proof of 
concept” standpoint rather than being part of the experience themselves. Healthcare is for everyone, not a like a car which you can choose to own or not own. I see this all the time with elaborate blogs, documents, you name it and it is very disappointing to see less participation. The style of writing is one thing that usually is a “dead” give away, but this is not to say there may not be some valuable information inside, but the undertones of the article usually seem to indicated “it’s for those guys over there” instead of an all round effort. This is why the web is so popular when you think about it as you have the opportunity to speak and connect with those who you find do have first hand information to offer. BD
If you listened closely enough, you could almost hear a "whoops" emanate from Washington after the initial post-ARRA (American Recovery and Reconstruction Act) euphoria wore off last fall. By that point, the healthcare IT industry had fully digested the massive pill and got a good sense of where the Meaningful Use bar would be set. Now the question on everyone's lips is, "Well, how are we actually going to do all that stuff?"
If people could get their minds around the financial aspects of paying for the software, they then came up against another obstacle. The people needed to implement electronic medical records and other advanced clinical systems just don't exist. I don't mean to say none of them exist, but the generally thrown-around estimates put the number at 50,000 and there just aren't that many EMR experts out there.
So how to create the EMR-savvy health IT workforce of tomorrow that's actually needed today? Well, the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT is certainly throwing a lot of green at the problem. By my count, $118 million of taxpayer money is being used to devise training programs that teach HIT skills, and develop tests that verify the knowledge has been absorbed.
The question will soon become: have these programs produced people who can actually do the work that's needed in the trenches? Can they create the other 10 people that my CIO friend was pleading for? And, most importantly, can they do it all in the next two years, when they'll be most sorely needed?
Guerra On Healthcare: E-Medical Record Pros In Short Supply -- InformationWeek
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