Exploring the impact of change management support on the eReferral user onboarding experience

Organizations can benefit greatly from having access to Change Management Specialists (CMS) who possess the required skills and knowledge to effectively guide and onboard the organization through the tool adoption process. Our CMS partner with healthcare professionals to seamlessly integrate digital health tools with existing clinical workflows. By streamlining processes and reducing administrative burdens, CMS enhance efficiency, enabling teams to focus more on patient care.

Continuous support and hands on practice allows for open communication and opportunities to discuss potential challenges; in turn, creating a smoother transition to the new workflow and helps set up users for success.¹ Additionally, it is important to continuously measure and evaluate the supports provided and collect feedback to ensure the training and support is relevant and effective.¹

The Post-Training Survey highlights the methods used by eReferral CMS to monitor and evaluate the support provided to users. Recently onboarded eReferral users who have received training from one of the CMS on an eReferral deployment team are invited to complete the survey. The survey aims to gather feedback on their training experience, perceptions of eReferral, and the effectiveness of the training and onboarding support offered by the Change Management Specialists.

The feedback collected in the post-training survey emphasizes how the CMS provide the essential support to improve the experience for new eReferral users. The testimonials of the users advocate for the CMS support and reinforces the importance of training for adoption and optimal use of eReferral.

Lots of time to ask questions. Collaborative effort with understanding and managing my workflow and how eReferral would fit in and improve our system.

They really listened to our questions and comments. Worked collaboratively to improve how the site functions and specifically how it works for our program

eReferral Users
Post Training Survey

Change Management and Digital Health Tool Adoption

A change management approach that provides ongoing user support and comprehensive training is critical in the implementation of digital tools1. Change management teams support the adoption of eReferral by providing personalized training and onboarding support to health professionals in a way that is tailored to their unique needs. Post-training surveys are shared with health professionals following their onboarding with an eReferral team member. This case study examines the survey results gathered from 230 respondents between August 2022 and October 2024. Of the 167 respondents who reported their satisfaction with their training, 96% were either satisfied or very satisfied. Additional satisfaction-based questions were asked including training delivery effectiveness, user participation, knowing who to contact following training and feeling prepared to use the eReferral system (Figure 1). Survey results indicate an overall positive experience when trained by a change management team member. This is further supported by several testimonials highlighting that after training, users felt more comfortable and confident utilizing eReferral within their practice setting. In summary, these results indicate that change management support while implementing eReferral in clinical spaces results in high levels of satisfaction.

The trainer was always able to answer all our questions! We felt very confident with the process after our training.

The trainer made a sincere effort to help me understand the platform and to help me figure out how to use it best to suit my needs.

Our training session was very informative. The trainer anticipated all questions that could be asked to ensure all providers were comfortable. I have received numerous compliments from our team on how thorough the session was. Thank you!

eReferral User Quotes
Post Training Survey

Acknowledgements

The Ontario eServices Program delivers digital services (eConsult and eReferral are the
first initiatives in the scope of the program) that support clinical workflows and facilitate smoother transitions in care and an improved patient experience. The Ontario eServices Program is co-led by the Ontario eConsult Centre of Excellence (eConsult COE) and the eHealth Centre of Excellence (eCE) and is funded by Ontario Health.

¹Bond, B. (2024, February 2). Best Practices for Change Management in Healthcare IT. Prosci.com; Prosci Inc. https://www.prosci.com/blog/change-management-healthcare-it