1. Sell it and make it work.
The biggest barrier to transitioning to EMRs is resistance to change from the staff and physicians. "You have to get them excited about it," says Melodee Moncrief, RN, BSN, administrator of the Big Creek Surgery Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Look for allies to help you champion the system and its benefits. Nurses who have worked at hospitals may have EMR experience and can help you spread the word and calm the fear of the older nurses. Find a tech-savvy physician to help convince his colleagues that the transition, and the cost of the system, will pay off sooner rather than later.