Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have transformed healthcare by centralizing patient data, streamlining communication, and enhancing clinical decision-making. With a single, comprehensive system, EHRs support everything from patient histories to billing, offering efficiency, accuracy, and better patient safety.
While EHRs provide a solid foundation for storing and sharing patient data, they have limitations when it comes to certain specialized aspects of healthcare. However, despite their strengths, EHRs are not the be-all and end-all for healthcare delivery. As care models become more complex, specialized tools are needed to complement EHRs and address gaps in care coordination, communication, and patient engagement.
Take, for instance, nurse triage. The desire for triage calls is to ensure first-call resolution. This requires clear workflows, customization for providers and users, and a platform that clearly identifies and groups the outlined work for each nurse specialty.
EHRs may track patient data, but they do not typically support triage decision-making in a precise manner that reinforces timely resolution for patients. A valuable healthcare CRM platform closes EHR inefficiency gaps which improves quality of care and facilitates the swift integrated communication needed to close the loop in one single interaction.
Specialized CRM solutions make a significant impact by bridging these gaps through robust integration with existing EHRs. These platforms enhance communication across the care continuum by streamlining patient interactions and ensuring that no patient query or request slips through the cracks.
This improves both patient experience and operational efficiency. For example, a patient’s question or need for follow-up can be automatically routed to the appropriate specialized caregiver, eliminating unnecessary delays and ensuring a faster response.
Customization is one of the greatest strengths of modern CRM platforms like CareDesk, addressing key gaps that EHRs fail to fill. Providers often desire to implement their own protocols tailored to their unique workflows, but EHRs typically do not allow for that level of flexibility. Advanced CRM platforms enable providers to establish and adapt protocols that align with their specific needs and clinical approaches.
Additionally, EHRs make it difficult to delineate work between different teams, leading to inefficiencies and confusion. Specialized tools simplify this by offering clear work assignments and task groupings, ensuring seamless coordination between departments.
“While EHRs provide a solid foundation for storing and sharing patient data, they have limitations when it comes to certain specialized aspects of healthcare.”
No matter the size of an organization, these platforms can be customized to meet unique operational demands. For example, in a large healthcare organization, understanding handoffs between three distinct departments — telehealth, the Medical Group, and Care Coordination — is critical.
Each department has its own unique workflows and processes, which can be customized and structured efficiently within Keona’s platform to support smooth transitions and reduce care fragmentation.
Modern healthcare CRMs offer features such as in-basket alerts, color coding for easy identification, and bundling of tasks which allows teams to only view their own worklist. Customizable workflows enable different practices or specialties to operate more efficiently, as tasks can be organized according to priority and complexity
Whether it's separating urgent tasks from routine follow-ups or color-coding specific types of calls (like high-risk cases), these tools help ensure clarity and prevent confusion. An additional benefit of integrating specialized healthcare CRM platforms is their ability to differentiate the work based on specialty. For instance, women’s health teams and newborn care teams have distinct needs and workflows.
These platforms can be tailored to reflect these differences, ensuring that team members are guided to focus on the specific tasks that are relevant to their area of expertise. Whether it’s prioritizing prenatal care inquiries or addressing post-delivery questions, this level of customization ensures that specialized care is delivered efficiently.
Another strength of healthcare CRM systems is its reporting capabilities, which are both unmatched and highly customizable. Healthcare organizations can filter reports by various criteria — such as different practices, departments, or types of interactions — allowing for more precise tracking and performance evaluation.
This provides valuable insights that help organizations fine-tune operations, optimize workflows, and identify areas for improvement. For example, reports can be filtered by practice type, such as pediatrics or geriatrics, enabling organizations to adjust their approach based on the unique needs of each patient population.
Looking ahead, the evolving healthcare landscape demands more than just EHRs. As telehealth, remote monitoring, and other digital health models continue to expand, healthcare providers must seek integrated solutions that go beyond the capabilities of traditional EHR systems.
Platforms that allow for the integration of specialized tools, will be essential in managing the complexity of these new care models. As organizations move forward, it’s crucial to consider how they can build on their EHR investments by integrating them with CRM and other specialized solutions. This not only supports the demands of modern care models but also ensures that healthcare systems remain agile in responding to future challenges.
The key takeaway for healthcare providers is that EHRs alone won’t suffice — partnering with specialized vendors can help fill the gaps and enhance overall efficiency and care delivery. In conclusion, while EHRs have laid the groundwork for more efficient and effective healthcare, they are not enough to address every facet of modern care.
As the industry continues to shift towards patient-centered models, it’s crucial to adopt a more integrated approach that includes specialized tools. Solutions like Keona’s CRM CareDesk platform provide the necessary support for efficient workflows, improved communication, and better patient outcomes.
By embracing this more holistic, adaptable approach, healthcare organizations can be better prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Triage nurses make critical decisions without the tools they were trained to use. They cannot observe, auscultate, or palpate — they rely solely on interview skills and active listening. This "Blind Crucible" forces nurses to assess invisible patients while working in isolation against the clock.
Triage nurses spend up to 40% of their time documenting rather than caring for patients, while navigating over 2,500 pages of clinical protocols. Is it surprising that sticky notes and handwritten cheat sheets cover their workspaces?
Jenny Simmonds' article on Electronic Health Records (EHRs) aptly highlights the transformative impact of EHRs on healthcare, centralizing patient data and enhancing clinical decision-making. However, as Jenny points out, EHRs alone are insufficient for addressing the complexities of modern healthcare delivery, especially in the contact center setting. Modern healthcare CRM platforms are specialized tools that are essential to complement EHRs and fill gaps in care coordination, communication, and patient engagement.
Unlike ED colleagues who can get second opinions, triage nurses shoulder complex decisions alone, significantly increasing burnout. Meanwhile, patient handoffs create a compounding "Handoff Tax“ — adding 3-5 minutes per transition and reducing satisfaction by 12% per handoff.
Forward-looking organizations address these challenges through:
Organizations implementing these principles report 75% shorter training times, better staff retention, 20% improved first-call resolution, and higher patient satisfaction.
Jenny’s article underscores that the future isn't about replacing clinical judgment. Modern CRMs like CareDesk remove obstacles so nurses can fully apply their expertise, transforming the Blind Crucible into a foundation for excellence.