You did it! Your practice has taken the plunge and chosen a new EHR. Over the last several weeks, you’ve been preparing your team, completing training, and you’re prepared to configure your EHR to work the way your practice meets the unique needs of your patients. Now, the Go-Live date is approaching. Whether you anticipate using your new EHR with anxiety or excitement or both, the Go-Live is an important process that will set your practice up for long-term success. Here’s how to prepare for an effective virtual Go-Live.
What to Know Before You Go-Live
The Go-Live is the starting line where you’ll begin using PCC EHR at the practice with your patients and colleagues. Just like any good marathon, however, thoughtful preparation is the key to success. PCC’s training timeline looks like this:
- Throughout the training process, you’ll connect with your very own Implementation Team via Zoom, direct calls, and Basecamp. You’ll quickly become familiar with them as they’ll guide you through training and configuration of the EHR, and will also be with you into your Go-Live, helping answer your questions and customize your PCC EHR to meet the needs of your practice.
- You’ll attend a Kick-Off Meeting to meet the Implementation Team via virtual video and learn what the next several weeks of training will look like. The Kick-Off is a series of interactive training sessions over the course of two days to review the software, workflow, configuration options, hands-on exercises and how to access your cloud server.
- After the Kick-Off, you’ll embark on a 12-week training period to familiarize yourself with the electronic health record. You’ll prepare your practice with any equipment you need, prepare to convert your data to PCC EHR, and get comfortable with how the software works.
- Finally, you’ll begin the Go-Live process a couple of days before working with any patients, usually on a weekend. This allows everyone on the team to train with your Implementation Team and prepare to use the EHR for “real”.
The PCC Implementation Team’s best advice for going into a Go-Live is to first pay attention to the training and assignments you’ll be working on in the weeks ahead of your Go-Live date. Secondly, ask all the questions you like! The team is happy to review clinical and practice management software processes with you more than once, give feedback on how workflows and reports can be customized, and generally prepare you with everything you’ll need for a great Go-Live.
Super User(s): A Virtual Go-Live Superpower
Virtual training and a virtual Go-Live mean that you’ll have exactly the level of assistance you need from PCC, exactly when you need it. Whether you want to drop a quick question into a chatroom or get live assistance via Zoom, you call the shots. But the real superhero of the Go-Live process comes from within -- the Superuser(s).
The Superuser is a member or members of your practice who will take on a special role during your transition to PCC EHR. Superusers assist with setting up equipment such as printers and scanners and assist in training sessions in the days before the Go-Live, but the reason they’re Superusers is that they work with the Implementation Team directly to become the in-house expert at the EHR. This means that even after your Go-Live, you have the best of both worlds -- a colleague who knows both the EHR and how your practice works, as well as instant support from PCC if you need it.
Your Implementation Team
Who is on your Implementation Team, and how will they help your practice prepare for your new journey with PCC EHR? To start with, the New Client Implementation Team (Implementation Team) is made up of electronic health record specialists whose focus is exclusively in working with new practices at PCC. They have varied backgrounds that will help them find the best solutions for your team as you bring PCC EHR into your practice’s everyday tasks.
Some Implementation Team members have long careers in practice operations and have plenty of experience to help make your transition go as smoothly as possible. Others bring previous experience in working with PCC’s Support team, which means they’re experts at solving the everyday challenges and the more nuanced problems of a pediatric practice.
Want a preview of the Implementation Team’s expert advice? Check out previous posts featuring Lauren Smith, on how switching EHRs can be painless, and Lynne Gratton’s front-house input on AR & Billing for Pediatricians, part of PCC’s Users’ Conference 2020 offerings that are open access for use by any pediatric practice. Click here to access more courses from the event.
Strategies to Your Go-Live Day A Success
Embrace the Changes
When your Go-Live day arrives, welcome it! At PCC, we love when practices celebrate the transition from old to new. When your practice is involved in the process of preparing and waiting for a change, celebrating is a great reminder to staff and colleagues why you’ve chosen to make the switch, and that with change comes new opportunities for better patient care and communication at the office. Whether you celebrate with confetti, pizza, or simply sharing the highlights of the day together, celebration is also a great way to motivate staff into a sometimes overwhelming transition.
Agility + Flexibility
A Go-Live, especially the first day, can be busy and confusing. One great perk of the virtual implementation is that your Implementation Team is accessible to you whenever you have a question, request a refresher lesson, or need some encouragement. Since you can reach them by email, chat, or Zoom, you can bring the help of PCC anywhere in the office with you -- even into the exam room!
Your Superuser(s) will likely also be busy during the Go-Live, helping connect the dots between your practice’s workflows and your new software capabilities. To help them be as agile as possible, you may wish to spread their usual duties between multiple people so that the Superuser can be free to assist anyone who may need help.
The Right Attitude
When pediatricians, office managers, and other management team members enter the Go-Live with a willingness to learn and make mistakes, staff will take their cues accordingly. While it may be difficult to get everyone on the same page or to adopt the same enthusiasm for your exciting new journey, leaving the door open for questions, concerns, and being open to solutions will help your team adjust ahead of time.
Having trouble with staff or other management problems? Ask your Implementation Team for advice or, as a new member of PCC’s community, feel free to contact the Pediatric Solutions team, who can help address the management and/or financial practices at your practice that could not only make transitions smoother, but make everyone’s tasks easier.
All in all, a successful Go-Live is one where your practice feels both confident in their new training and supported by a team who has your back while you use the EHR to treat your patients for the first time. Our mission at PCC is to help make the first days, as well as all your future days with PCC, as supportive as possible, to help your practice provide the best possible care to kids in your community. For a look at the success of our client practices after their Go-Live with PCC, check out their success stories.
