{"id":1779,"date":"2023-03-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npchartingschool.com\/?p=1779"},"modified":"2023-03-30T10:37:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T10:37:08","slug":"manage-the-ehr-inbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npchartingschool.com\/manage-the-ehr-inbox\/","title":{"rendered":"4 tips to mange the EHR inbox for nurse practitioners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nurse practitioners understand how difficult it is to manage the EHR inbox. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oftentimes, APRNs spend more time completing their task list than they do actually with patients. Nurse practitioners have a lot of responsibilities to do on a typical work day. Not only do nurse practitioners have to assess, diagnose, and treat patients, but they also have to document the findings and plan of care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then add on the \u201cother tasks” nurse practitioners are responsible for during the workday. Nurse practitioners have to review past medical documentation. They analyze diagnostic results and notify the patient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

APRNs take care of routine medication refills. When addressing refills, NPs may have to verify the correct medication and dose. Nurse practitioners have to ensure the patient has followed up on a regular basis and if not the NPs needs to contact the patient to make sure they come in for an appointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then add on the never ending patient messages<\/a><\/strong>. The messaging the nurse practitioner is a convenient way to ask questions. But it seems like patients are asking for prescriptions without being seen in the clinic. (*** Read this article on 6 tips to manage patient messages<\/a>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many tasks a nurse practitioner does throughout the day, no wonder it is difficult to manage the EHR inbox!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Challenges with the electronic health record (EHR) inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of the electronic medical records have a taskbar showing what “tasks” (analyzing diagnostic data, reviewing medical documentation, addressing medication refills, answering patient messages) need completed. For example, there may be a 15 next to the medical refills item meaning the nurse practitioner has 15 medical refills to address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are like me, the more items that need to be addressed brings more anxiety and feeling like I\u2019m constantly running behind. It can be difficult to manage the EHR inbox! If the tasks are not completed during the work day APRNs likely have to stay late at the office or bring the charts home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or nurse practitioners spend too much of their workday completing these tasks and not signing the charts. Which is also a reason nurse practitioners bring charts home. Both of these examples create a lack of work-life balance<\/strong><\/a> and increased risk of nurse practitioner burnout<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of nurse practitioners end up working more than 40 hours a week (which is unpaid time!). When NPs are unable to rest and recharge after a work day, their mental, emotional, and physical health<\/strong><\/a> is negatively impacted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tips to manage the EHR inbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While nurse practitioners cannot eliminate any of these tasks, there are a few things nurse practitioners can implement to assist to manage the EHR inbox in a timely manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triage tasks as a nurse practitioner.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some tasks a nurse practitioner needs to complete have a higher value than others. Nurse practitioners will assess, diagnose, and treat patients. They then document the findings and plan in the chart note. The note is assigned an evaluation and management level which is then billed to the patient\u2019s insurance. This is how healthcare businesses generate income (and all businesses need revenue in order to continue to provide services). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nurse practitioners generate income by seeing and documenting patient encounters. The other tasks (med refills, analyzing diagnostic data, reviewing medical documentation, and patient messages) do not directly bring in revenue. Nurse practitioners should prioritize seeing patients first. Remembering this concept makes it easier to triage what is most important first, and then nurse practitioners can manage the EHR inbox.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Delegate tasks to support staff.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Any healthcare provider should be working to their highest level of license. For example, there are certain tasks that a medical assistant can do. There are certain things registered nurses and LPN can do. And there are certain things nurse practitioners do. When healthcare providers work to their highest level of degree, it helps to create an efficient and productive healthcare facility<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know it can be hard to delegate tasks (I struggle with asking other people for help too). But if you are spending over 40 hours (unpaid time<\/em><\/strong>) trying to keep up with charting, then it\u2019s time to ask support staff for help. Delegate tasks that are easy for the nurse\/ medical assistant to do. This with help nurse practitioners manage the EHR inbox!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once chatted with a nurse practitioner who was spending a lot of time walking patients out after the visit. The NP was even scheduling their follow-up appointment. It was preventing the nurse practitioner from charting right after the patient encounter<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delegating these small tasks are really not asking much from support staff as we should all work to our highest level of license. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ask for what you need. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I can already hear the comebacks about lack of staffing. Keeping enough support staff, such as front office help, nurses, medical assistants, has become challenging in the past few years. Let alone, hard working, productive, support staff. I have talked to so many nurse practitioners who have started to consume a lot of these tasks that could be delegated to support staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many nurse practitioners are managing all of the patient messages, medication, refills, setting up, referrals, completing prior auths. Nurse practitioners are even checking in their own patients. Getting the vital signs, intaking information, administering medications, drawing labs. All of these tasks that could be delegated to support staff takes time away from the nurse practitioners seeing patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, some of these staffing struggles are out of the control of the nurse practitioner, there are a few things I do recommend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n