A quick survey: How many people lounge around on Sunday morning in their robe and slippers with a cup of coffee, perusing the newspaper .on their laptop? Not too many, right?

Now, another question: How many people hear of an unknown medical term while at their doctor's office, then run home to Google it or look on WebMD? A lot more.

Lately, as our HealthPort electronic document management system (EDMS) implementation begins to wrap up, I'm reminded more and more that there's a difference between reading pages of documents and locating data points online. Many people find the first annoying, but the second convenient. Hence, people are slow to adapt to full-on reading online, but quick to adapt to looking up data .a point that we must remember as we help users adapt and learn.

Different Users, Different Needs
Maybe this doesn't sound like a genius-level observation, but I found it particularly significant as I compare two HealthPort EDMS users: Our performance improvement coordinator, or "QA person," and our physicians.

First of all, our physicians are adapting to yet another task they must now perform online with HealthPort EDMS: peer reviews. Whether the chart has been randomly selected or whether it's a specific case review, our physicians are regularly asked to do peer reviews. Prior to HealthPort EDMS, physicians were sent a paper-based request with the paper chart attached. Now, they still receive a paper request but must log on and read the chart from start to finish, and then complete the review.

We've heard a little grumbling from the physicians; they'd much prefer to review the paper-based charts and send their feedback to us for input. But before you say, "Well, of course . physicians are just notorious for not wanting to adapt to new technology," pause to consider: Were you one of the few who actually reads your Sunday paper online? Probably not.

And thoroughly reading a patient chart in entirety, then providing feedback, is most likely synonymous to browsing through your thick Sunday paper. Still, advanced technology - such as our HealthPort EDMS - is here to stay, so we must work with the physicians to get them used to conducting reviews and other critical tasks online.

Diving for Data - Easier to Adapt
Second, consider our performance improvement coordinator: she goes through each chart and looks for particular data elements located within specific documents. Her data review and analysis is 100 percent retrospective, and she knows exactly what she needs. Needless to say, she is thrilled; HealthPort has made her life much simpler.

She even works with two monitors - one displaying HealthPort, and one displaying whatever database or abstracting application she's using (e.g., CMS Abstracting Reporting tool or Performance Improvement Network worksheets.) She toggles back and forth, locating data in HealthPort and entering it in the appropriate application. She no longer has to rely on the HIM office to pull records; she has more control over her schedule and when she'll perform her reviews.

Here are two examples of different EDMS users with widely contradictory attitudes about adapting to it and using it; however, it's obvious why each party feels the way they do.

As I encourage widespread adoption in our hospital, these perspectives help me stay patient and positive with every user group. And those doctors aren't all negative; on the contrary, if they are looking up old records, they're just like our performance improvement coordinator - thrilled with the ease and convenience. We repeatedly hear from ER physicians that the speedy retrieval of old records, specifically previous EKGs, is more than just convenient; it has helped saved lives.

The Future Is Here to Stay
Maybe two or three generations down the road, no one will read newspapers in paper format. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will read books, magazines and other formerly printed pieces online, and the doctors of that future day won't bat an eye at having to do chart reviews - or anything else - online. But until that day, which seems almost too futuristic to even consider, we'll happily help physicians and others adapt to technology that will help us improve both business operations and patient care.

Traci Waugh is director of health information and compliance at North Valley Hospital, Whitefish, MT, and a client of SDS.