EHR backlash: What happens when your staff rebels?

There’s a problem brewing at Affinity Medical Center in Massillon, Ohio.  The hospital is set to go live on its brand new Cerner EHR system this weekend, but the registered nurses are feeling undertrained, short staffed, and unprepared for the transition.  Hospital administration doesn’t want to delay, after pouring time and money into their EHR adoption.  They’ve provided the training hours recommended by their vendor and have done their due diligence.  But can they dismiss the deep misgivings of their primary users?   Can they afford to ignore the nurses unions who are backing their members’ patient safety concerns?  What should a provider do when the staff simply isn’t on board after months of preparing for EHR implementation?

“EHR backlash” is a term that’s becoming all too familiar to physicians, nurses, and administrators mired in the EHR Incentive Program, facing an onslaught of federal requirements for EHR use, a parade of eager vendors hoping for their patronage, and a staff that often has mixed feelings about the design, usability, and workflow challenges of EHR software.