Question

Workflow mapping is usually used when an EHR is newly implemented. How can workflow mapping be used in primary care to but due quality measures, quality rating, MIPS, quality metrics, etc; how can workflow mapping help in meeting these measures in primary care and what are some examples related to workflow re-design?

Answer 1

Answer: A workflow map is a picture of the actions, steps, or tasks performed to achieve a certain result.

Clinical Workflow Mapping Procedure: documenting and revising the current process of
care.
Two guiding principles:
• Design the new process to make no extra work for clinicians and as little new work as
possible for staff
• Take advantage of how the system already interfaces with patients.
Ex.: if patients currently receive appointments by mail one month prior to the
scheduled date, there may be an opportunity to include a decision support tool or
appointment or assessment in the mailing.

Modification in the work flow:

Its main aim to identify opportunities and processes for decision support
integration, It consider the following things such as:
• How do patients enter the system, and at what point are they identified as being
eligible for the tools you wish to offer them?
• Some decision points are amenable to decision support prior to the episode of care,
and some are best addressed after the clinical encounter.
° For example, screening decision aids (prostate and colon cancer screening) can be
distributed based on eligiblity criteria and made available to patients scheduled for
primary care visits.
° On the other hand, patients with low back pain may be eligible for a chronic low
back pain video, or they may be more appropriate for the herniated disc or spinal
stenosis tools. These patients are usually prescribed decision aids once a diagnosis is
made during a clinical encounter. Your process of care may be amenable to either
a pre- or post-visit model for patients with congestive heart failure or type 2
diabetes, depending on your resources and care pathways.
• Some decisions may be amenable to the use of a decision aid at multiple time points. It
is important to understand not only the eligibility criteria (target audience) for the
decision aid, but also the content. For example, “Living with Diabetes: Making
lifestyle changes to last a lifetime” may be appropriate for newly diagnosed patients with Type 2 diabetes.