Workflow is the lifeblood of a practice. And the efficiency of that workflow can affect a practice's quality of patient care and level of profitability. An EHR workflow that is built around proven processes and procedures can rapidly improve the proficiency and effectiveness of a practice.

What defines a strong EHR workflow? One that clearly establishes the provider or staff member that should perform a particular task, at a stage that's easiest and most appropriate for those involved. This level of clarity enforces a smooth workflow that enhances overall efficiency and can increase patient throughput—all while enabling a sharp focus on patient care.

Of course, a practice that has electronic health records can benefit from the ease and convenience of instantly accessible records, a faster path to requesting patient or insurance payment, and best practices incorporated right into their electronic health record systems workflow so that improvements can quickly be implemented (a major advantage to having a cloud-based EHR).

In addition, an EHR enables the automatic recording of prescribed activities, an efficient means of data collection needed to satisfy various requirements for programs such as Meaningful Use.

As it does for great teams of any kind, a well-thought out flow of activity, which the right EHR provides, can increase the effectiveness of every team member, and of the team as a whole.