Electronic health records (EHRs) gained widespread use in the mid-2000s, when the HITECH Act gave providers a financial incentive to switch from paper charts. Now, EHRs are ubiquitous in healthcare; a report from January 2020 found that 95% of hospitals use EHR technology.

As the demand for EHR technology has increased, so has the supply: in 2017, there were more than 1,100 EHR systems available to providers. No two EHRs are exactly alike, and each system has its own processes and quirks that staff need to master. Today, we’re going to examine the most common EHR mistakes your staff is probably making—and how they impact your bottom line.

An important message from our Ascend Learning CEO

Greg Sebasky, CEO of Ascend Learning sent the following message to Ascend Learning team members today. 

Ascend Team Members,

As we all witness the difficult and painful events of the past week, I, like many of you are experiencing understandable feelings of grief, fear, anger and sadness. I believe we’re all looking for the right words to express our strong support for those suffering due to ongoing racism and discrimination as well as the unequal treatment and lack of opportunity for many people, including black, brown, and indigenous citizens of our country. True humanity requires opportunity, justice and equality be accessible to everyone. I don’t have a perfect answer or perfect words to address all that is happening around us, but I do believe together we can continue to make a meaningful difference in the world. And I know we all share a desire to do what is right by and for all people.

Organizations in every industry, including healthcare, now recognize the importance of building essential soft skills in their employees to harness the broader business benefits. Commonly referred to as “people” skills, essential skills or interpersonal skills, soft skills and attributes are just as critical to success. In fact, ten of the sixteen ‘crucial proficiencies in the 21st century’ identified by the World Economic Forum are non-technical.

To help you have a better understanding of the true impact of soft skills in healthcare, we’re sharing research on some of the most important soft skills that healthcare workers need to master.

Are you seeking to hire, train, and retain highly-qualified, deeply engaged allied health professionals?

Certified allied health professionals and their many roles are essential to outpatient clinics, surgical centers, hospitals, and numerous other healthcare settings. The demand for these highly skilled frontline healthcare workers is quite high, as reflected by the challenges employers often face when it comes to recruiting and retaining them. You’ll have to stand out to achieve the results you seek.

If you’re an allied health educator concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on higher education, you’re not the only one.

According to a survey by the Strada Education Network, a majority of employees in the education industry believe that the pandemic will affect them personally for six months or more. Higher education has been hit hard by COVID-19, including allied health education. Postsecondary educators and students are worried, and many allied health educators are concerned that over 350,000 fewer students renewing their FAFSA for the 2020-21 cycle points to trouble ahead.

In this webinar, we provide administrators a brief overview of the NHA suite of pharmacy technician product solutions.

Healthcare today is far different than it was at the start of 2020 due to COVID-19. During this webinar, which is now available on-demand, you will learn about how the healthcare system has adapted in the midst of this pandemic. 

The pathway to achieving career success is unique to each of us, though one thing we all have in common is that along our journey, we’ll be met with opportunities and challenges, choices and decisions that define who we are and help us grow.

The 2020 Industry Outlook shares the trends impacting some of the most in-demand allied health professions. In this year's research, NHA collected insights and data from employers of allied health professionals, digging deeper to understand what they seek in candidates, what these professionals’ daily work looks like, and what traits and skills make them most successful in their roles. Download a copy or read on to learn more about this report.

For current NHA certification holders, log into your NHA account and complete the CE activity associated with this article.

Learn what led to an essential soft skills gap as well as methods to help healthcare workers improve.

For current NHA certification holders, log into your NHA account and complete the continuing education activity associated with this article.