Last time I described that when thinking about clinical staff facing the move from paper to an EMR, I find it useful to think of three groups of people and ask:

·       who they are?

·       what is their attitude to computers?

·       what does their motivation look like?

I went on to write about "the Excited:" the younger clinicians who bring computer skills, a positive attitude, energy and impatience to an implementation.  Now comes the group to which I, myself, belonged at the outset of my journey from clinician to EMR implementer.  I call this group the More or Less Willing.

These clinicians are bit older. They still have kids at home, so they are exposed to the contemporary computer world. They use email and shop online. In their professional lives, they have longer tenure at the organization and in their professions. They are used to established roles and methods in their work. This group is computer comfortable.

When facing an EMR implementation, they have an open attitude about the contribution of computers. They understand the advantages of computers in terms of accessibility and legibility. But they also have important concerns. They fear the therapeutic process will become dehumanized. They worry about the loss of authority over the flow and content of their work.  They are concerned about threats to client confidentiality. How about the impact on their time? Maybe they are skeptical about the organization’s capacity to actually pull it off. And more…

The wise implementer will address these concerns. Every stage of the implementation process offers opportunities to woo, communicate, engage and reassure.  I’ll be writing about my experiences, strategies and ideas for each stage.  It just occurred to me that this group is the equivalent of the independent/swing voters and that the crucial goal is to help them to become confident and positive enough to “vote” for and maybe even work for the implementation. Without them, you cannot win.