6. Document imaging. “Scanning and storing your paper documents is something that affects everyone,” said Shah. “All scanners come with some basic imaging software that you can use for free.” And once you’re good at scanning and paper digitalization, he said, you can move to “medical grade” document management that can improve productivity even more. 

[See also: EMR improves rural healthcare.]

7. Clinical content repository (CMS). Open source systems, like Drupal and Joomla, do a great job of content management, said Shah. “And they can be adapted to do clinical content management.” Both Joomla and Drupal offer users flexibility to change and manage content on their own. And, not to mention, a clinical content repository allows for easy searching, cross-correlation, and simple updates. One success story includes Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which implemented a clinical content repository to collaborate with other research facilities and create a database that included information from a significant number of trials, as well as numerical data from blood and tissue analyses. 

8. Electronic lab reporting (ELR). “If labs are taking up most of your time, you can automate them pretty easily with web-based lab reporting systems,” said Shah. ELR has many benefits, including timeliness, reduction of manual data entry errors, and more complete reports. It’s been promoted as a public health priority for the past several years, and since it’s a meaningful use objective, its adoption is being accelerated. 

9. Electronic transcribing. On the flip side, if clinical note taking is eating up most of your time, consider automating it by using electronic transcribing, suggested Shah. Additionally, electronic transcribing will help on your journey to adopting an EMR by maintaining an optimal, popular dictation interface, creating a document-sharing system among multiple locations, and reducing transcription expenditures by reducing the number of lines transcribed. 

10. Speech recognition. Shah said speech recognition is another “point solution” to helping with capturing clinical notes. “You can get a system up and running for under $250,” he said. And today’s speech recognition software can be do more than pure dictation. Most systems can be used to manage email as well as speed up information turnaround and protect employees from repetitive stress injuries. Additionally, the software can be integrated with most EMRs. 

Follow Michelle McNickle on Twitter at @Michelle_writes