Abstract
In primary care settings, users often rely on vendors to provide support for health information technology (HIT). Yet, little is known about the vendors' perspectives on the support they provide, how support personnel perceive their roles, the challenges they face and the ways they deal with them. To provide in-depth insight into an electronic medical record (EMR) vendor's perspective on end-user support. As part of a larger case study research, we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with help desk staff, trainers and service managers of an EMR vendor, and observed two training sessions of a new client. With a growing client base, the vendor faced challenges of support staff shortage and high variance in users' technical knowledge. Additionally, users sometimes needed assistance with infrastructure, and not just software problems. These challenges sometimes hindered the provision of timely support and required supporters to possess good interpersonal skills and adapt to diverse client population. This study highlights the complexity of providing end-user support for HIT. With increased adoption, other vendors are likely to face similar challenges. To deal with these issues, supporters need not only strong technical knowledge of the systems, but also good interpersonal communication skills. Some responsibilities may be delegated to super-users. Users may find it useful to hire local IT staff, at least on an on-call basis, to provide assistance with infrastructure problems, which are not supported by the software vendor. Vendors may consider expanding their service packages to cover these elements.
Highlights
BackgroundThe implementation of health information technology (HIT) in general, and electronic health and medical records (EHRs and electronic medical record (EMR)) in particular, has been an on-going challenge.[1,2] Despite large investments aimed at facilitating adoption and benefits realisation,[3] there is a consensus that the potential of HIT for improving the quality, safety and efficiency of the healthcare system is not fully realised.[4,5]Support is often considered an important factor for successful implementation and benefit realisation of HIT.[6,7,8] there is a dearth of research on support in general, and especially in community based primary care settings
This study investigated how support personnel from an electronic medical record (EMR) vendor perceive their roles, the challenges they are facing and the ways they are dealing with them
The main identified themes related to support activities and sources, perceived characteristics of support personnel, and challenges faced by the vendor are discussed in detail below
Summary
BackgroundThe implementation of health information technology (HIT) in general, and electronic health and medical records (EHRs and EMRs) in particular, has been an on-going challenge.[1,2] Despite large investments aimed at facilitating adoption and benefits realisation,[3] there is a consensus that the potential of HIT for improving the quality, safety and efficiency of the healthcare system is not fully realised.[4,5]Support is often considered an important factor for successful implementation and benefit realisation of HIT.[6,7,8] there is a dearth of research on support in general, and especially in community based primary care settings. In community based primary care settings, such as physician offices, this kind of support is often missing Rather, in these settings, HIT vendors play a greater role in providing training and on-going support to the end-users. Little research has explored the vendors’ perspectives on the support they provide, how support personnel perceive their roles, the challenges they are facing and the ways they are dealing with them. The purpose of this preliminary study is to provide an in-depth look into these issues based on a case study of one primary care EMR vendor in Ontario, Canada. Objective To provide in-depth insight into an electronic medical record (EMR) vendor’s perspective on end-user support
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