A Curriculum for Teaching Clinical Efficiency Focusing on Specific Communication Skills While Maximizing the...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Informatics
• Clinical Communication

Background:

• Physicians require comprehensive training in electronic health record (EHR) use for patient care delivery.
• Existing training lacks focus on enhancing clinical efficiency alongside communication within EHR systems.
• Primary care settings with EHR present necessitate efficient communication strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel curriculum for teaching clinical efficiency and effective patient communication within any EHR system.
• To equip physicians, including residents, fellows, faculty, and physician extenders, with practical EHR communication skills.

Main Methods:

• A four-workshop curriculum focusing on EHR structured communication strategies.
• Incorporation of preclinical preparation, rapport building, and visit management techniques.
• Utilized the ATTEND mnemonic and agenda setting to integrate documentation with communication for efficiency.

Main Results:

• Post-workshop surveys indicated high participant satisfaction (84% found workshops helpful).
• Demonstrated improvement in clinical efficiency, evidenced by a decrease in the average days to note completion.
• High attendance (94%) at the Program Directors Workshop highlighted the curriculum's perceived value and usability.

Conclusions:

• The developed curriculum effectively enhances both patient communication and clinical efficiency in EHR environments.
• The training strategies are generalizable across different EHR platforms, despite initial use with EPIC.
• Future research should involve direct observation and expanded data to measure communication effectiveness and visit efficiency.