Optimizing EHR Performance and End-User Adoption in the Era of AI

EHR platforms have long been the backbone of clinical operations, centralizing patient data and streamlining care delivery. These platforms are powerful in their own right, but political and economic headwinds, such as changes to Medicaid funding, are only increasing the need for healthcare organizations to find even greater efficiencies.

Recent AI innovations, such as AI agents for care coordination and patient outreach, are offering new opportunities to unlock greater value from EHR platforms. To fully recognize the benefits of these new capabilities, healthcare organizations must prioritize workflow optimization, data interoperability, and effective staff support and adoption.  

Three Keys to Advancing EHR AI-Powered Performance  

Pillar 1: Workflow Optimization

All major EHRs today come with workflows designed to support a range of clinical and operational needs. Thankfully, EHR vendors, such as Epic and Oracle, are developing new ways of speeding up workflows with AI. 

Here are just a few of the AI-powered capabilities EHR vendors have recently developed:  

• AI-Assisted Documentation: This rapidly evolving functionality uses AI to draft and refine clinical notes, saving clinicians time by reducing manual data entry and ensuring records are more complete.  

• Intelligent Order Sets: This capability applies context-aware order templates, or algorithms, to suggest labs, medications, and imaging based on patient history and clinical guidelines. This results in improved clinical efficiency and supports evidence-based decision making at the point of care.  

In addition to the capabilities from EHR vendors, companies like CTG’s partner HippocraticAI are leading the development of safety-focused, patient-facing clinical generative AI agents for healthcare. CTG and Hippocratic AI are currently working to jointly develop an AI agent that transforms routine patient support into meaningful clinical engagement. 

When implementing these tools, it’s important to recognize that every healthcare organization has unique workflows and patient engagement systems. Factors such as specialty-specific documentation and customized EHR configurations naturally contribute to differences in EHR applications from one organization to the next. By conducting a detailed workflow analysis with a partner that knows your EHR system, organizations can map care delivery, identify inefficiencies, and uncover ways to streamline operations and accelerate outcomes. 

Pillar 2: Interoperability and Data Exchange 

Modern interoperability tools make it possible for data from labs, imaging centers, billing systems, and external providers to flow into a single platform, giving clinicians a complete, up-to-date view of each patient. 

New methods are transforming how this data is used. FHIR-based APIs and AI-powered data mapping reconcile information from multiple sources, reducing duplicate records. Collaborative care dashboards allow teams across departments to share alerts and care plans seamlessly. These innovations also extend to patients. Epic, for example, recently announced enhancements to its Open@Epic platform which further expands data connectivity and introduces simplified, patient-driven app integrations and broader interoperability across systems. The result? Patients get a more connected, personalized, and convenient healthcare experience and healthcare organizations reduce staff burden and ensure appointments run on time. 

Pillar 3: User Adoption and Training  

Maximizing the value of EHRs has always been dependent upon ensuring that clinicians and staff are confident and proficient in using the system, even as it continues to evolve.  

While AI can help streamline workflows and improve clinician efficiencies in the long run, it can seem overwhelming in a busy hospital unit. Role-specific training and ongoing support remain paramount to help end users learn new AI-powered EHR capabilities and how to make full use of these new innovative features and functionality. A holistic, user-focused approach to continuous education empowers teams to keep their focus on delivering better patient care without compromising efficiencies and data quality.  

By investing in user support, organizations can maximize the benefits of these new automated tools and capabilities and strengthen clinician adoption. 

How CTG Can Help—Healthcare IT Managed Services That Keep Your EHR Evolving and Performing 

EHR optimization is an ongoing journey, not a one-time project. Partnering with a trusted healthcare IT managed services partner ensures organizations have the expertise and capacity to evolve their systems to include new innovations like Hippocratic AI agents, without impacting patient care.  

CTG’s Healthcare IT Managed Services provides health systems with the stability, security, and scalability needed to thrive. Together with our industry and technology partners, we are helping our clients stay on the cutting edge with their IT environment. We take on the burden of day-to-day IT system and application management so your teams can focus on strategic initiatives that advance care quality, clinician satisfaction, and digital transformation.

Request a CTG Managed IT Services Insights Session 

Adopting a managed services solution offers an effective and efficient way for health systems to tap into the latest technology innovations and specialized talent. CTG’s Healthcare IT Managed Services allows health systems to focus on what matters most to their strategic growth and operational priority of providing stellar patient care.

Schedule a 30-minute Managed Services Discovery Call to learn how CTG can help you uncover hidden costs, reduce risks, and identify opportunities to optimize your IT operations.