Regional Extension Centers (RECs) are located in every region of the country to help health care providers select, implement, and become adept and meaningful users of electronic health records (EHRs). RECs are equipped with the personnel and resources to support and advise eligible providers in all phases of the electronic health record (EHR) adoption and implementation cycle. RECs often provide on-site EHR implementation training, as well as training resources. Contact your local REC to find out if you are eligible for free or reduced-price local EHR implementation support.

Vendor training is also valuable, as the vendor knows their EHR product and can provide intensive training on the functionalities and structure of the system.

One effective training strategy is to take advantage of vendor training to create a group of “super users.” Super users are staff members trained to move through the EHR system quickly and can share helpful hints, tips, and techniques. Your core group of EHR supers users can provide internal training to office staff and clinicians. Super user training is a crucial component of an EHR training plan, because super users combine specialized EHR training with training on how the EHR will be used in your organization for your specific workflow and patient population. One lesson learned from the work of RECs is to leverage EHR super users for shoulder to shoulder training of clinicians. For more information about the super user training strategy, see the California HealthCare Foundation’s Training Strategies: EHR Deployment Techniques .