Oracle Cerner Staffing Resource Guide: Tackling 8 Key Cerner Support Pain Points Amid Ongoing EHR Market Movement

By MacKenzie Gonnnelly

Today, evolving consumer-driven expectations, along with new market entrants and care models, have amplified competition among healthcare organizations. While this competition can ultimately benefit patients and providers, health systems contending with workforce shortages or ongoing financial strain may be struggling to keep up. Whether experiencing talent pool strain, Cerner staffing shortages, limited budgets, or system transition pressures, it is crucial for health systems to seek out cost-effective, flexible Oracle Cerner support to remain competitive.

Let's take a closer look at eight Oracle Cerner support challenges your healthcare organization may be facing amid industry pressures, along with plausible solutions for long-term system success:

Pain Point #1

• Ongoing end user frustration and tech-related clinical burnout – With already demanding workloads, hospital staff experiencing inadequate Cerner inpatient system, ambulatory, patient portal, or desktop/technical support may become increasingly discouraged. Delays in patient care from frequent IT callbacks, extended wait times, or failed reroutes can decrease productivity and job fulfillment amongst end users.
  
  
  • Solution: Service Desk Support
    To boost end user satisfaction, consider deploying a dedicated Cerner service desk solution. Expert Cerner support resources can address repeat end-user errors, technical patient care disruptions, and EHR workflow issues through meaningful virtual shadowing support. Look for a service desk partner who can improve metrics like first call resolution rates, demonstrating a focus on true issue resolution as opposed to simply ticket taking. By advancing end-user education and knowledge transfer, hospitals and health systems can enhance staff experiences, reduce tech burnout, and alleviate end-user tension toward IT.
    
    To further strengthen clinician specific support, ensure your service desk includes clinically consultative resources, oftentimes RNs, who can empathetically communicate with providers. Select vendor partners who offer physician-only concierge lines for priority response, as well as one-on-one provider sessions to address individualized support gaps, preference lists, or customization requests. By elevating clinically focused tech support, hospitals and health systems can boost job satisfaction, reduce turnover, and prompt more efficient patient care interactions.
  
  

Pain Point #2

• Securing qualified IT resources to meet fluctuating support demands – Mission critical events such as consolidating IT systems, coordinating system new version upgrades, aligning care facilitates, or optimizing the Cerner system, may require varying levels of EHR support and technical skillsets. Yet, across the industry, low retention rates and workforce shortages remain a barrier to Cerner staffing flexibility.
  
  
  • Solution: FlexSourcing Staffing Support
    To meet rapidly pivoting support needs, health IT executives must determine new ways to alleviate staffing burden. Choosing a vendor partner with flexible staffing capabilities can help organizations — in times of evolving support demands — ebb and flow resources without hindering workflows.
    
    One specific vendor solution is Stoltenberg's FlexSourcing program, a scalable IT support service that seamlessly adjusts to meet changes in staffing volume and skill mix. Stoltenberg resources collaborate with internal IT teams to minimize staff fatigue, while helping to successfully complete various project and operational needs.
    
    FlexSourcing offers service scope expansion beyond traditional IT managed services to include help desk, break/fix, remote build, training, or senior-level Cerner analyst expertise across Tier 1-3 support.
    
    Regardless of partner selection, Tier 1-3 support agility enables hospitals and health systems to focus on sustained operational efficiency and Cerner system optimization despite industry turbulence or staffing shortages – no matter where they are in their EHR journey.
  
  

Pain Point #3

• Specific role, certification, or experience gaps within an internal IT team – Due to ongoing workforce constraints, filling Cerner-certified analyst gaps in specific application support may be difficult. Faced with significant timing and budgetary pressures, hiring, onboarding, and training for roles may not be feasible internally.
  
  
  • Solution: Staff Augmentation Services
    For an optimal staffing mix, it is important to assess an internal team's skillset, expertise, limitations, and professional career paths to then determine where gaps exist. Supplemental support consultants can then provide skilled Cerner analysts to help meet organizational needs across the full Cerner system suite. Seek resources who have experience completing similar projects at comparable organizations to ensure the most effective support. These resources should provide meaningful Cerner knowledge transfer, offering internal staff the necessary skills to sustain success once projects have concluded. By utilizing staff augmentation resources to meet support needs, hospitals can reduce labor costs while optimizing Oracle Cerner support efficiency.
  
  

Pain Point #4 & #5

• Staff resistance to system transition – Unsurprisingly, staff may be resistant to an EHR system change and the impact it will have on everyday workflow. If users don't understand the reasoning and logistics behind the change or are uninvolved in the transition planning, fear may cause lack of buy-in and poor new user adoption.
  
  
• Lack of resources to prepare end users for new system adoption – As hospitals implement, consolidate, upgrade, or even plan to transition off their Oracle Cerner system, there may be a shortage of experienced, certified trainers to adequately prepare new end users for these major moves. Without proper support, novice user training can be time consuming and may reduce organizational productivity.
  
  
  • Solution: Go-Live Training Support Services
    With additional go-live training resources, experienced support partners can help develop a training program specific to a hospital's organizational needs. A mix of Cerner-certified (or Epic-certified/credentialed for those transitioning off Cerner) analysts, trainers, and module-specific resources is needed to deliver at-elbow support and multi-format training tailored to individual end users. One-on-one knowledge transfer sessions and at-the-elbow (ATE) support should range in coverage from extensive new user education to more efficient sessions for skilled users. Thorough training material should also be available to staff for future reference, as well as a continuously updated knowledge hub.
    
    By ensuring clinicians and staff are comfortable and knowledgeable in the Cerner system, a quality go-live training program boosts new system adoption and user satisfaction. Creating more proficient users from the start increases physician buy-in, alleviates future EHR burnout, and maximizes end-user utilization for long-term Cerner system ROI.
  
  

Pain Point #6

• Difficulty staffing for ramped up go-live support needs – During a Cerner transition or upgrade (or move from Cerner to Epic), internal teams may lack the level of staff, analyst volume, or technical ability necessary to scale support to align with end-user needs. If not addressed, exceeding internal team bandwidth can result in a flood of high priority tickets or unanticipated downtimes — not to mention significant IT staff burnout. Without a seamless system transition, support for future IT initiatives may dwindle, stifling any new system adoption.
  
  
  • Solution: Go-Live Call Command Center Services
    Selecting a vendor partner who provides scalable staffing services allows health systems to secure effective support, regardless of fluctuating go-live demands. To seamlessly facilitate new system rollout, a go-live call command center expands traditional help desk support, combining go-live project management, end-user training, and help desk issue resolution all in one as a centralized support hub. Seek vendor partners who pull daily statistical reports to measure live event tickets, call volumes, and resolution rates. These metrics allow staffing modifications to be made immediately, adjusting to an organization's most current Cerner support needs.
    
    This flexibility ultimately reduces end-user error and frustration, while simultaneously granting internal IT staff time to focus on priority application projects. Moreover, through meaningful interactions with skilled Cerner analysts or trainers, clinical end users can more efficiently resolve issues, enabling smoother direct patient care despite go-live pressures.
  
  

Pain Point #7

• Concern with potential implementation delays – When faced with limited resources and a tight budget, new EHR system implementation delays can lead to disastrous impacts on a healthcare organization's financial and patient care goals. Any unplanned expenses or reallocation of resources mid-project can delay system go live and significantly increase project cost.
  
  
  • Solution: Implementation Support Services
    To complete implementation projects on time and within budget, seek a vendor partner who leads comprehensive pre-implementation planning to successfully manage resources. Applying proactive optimization, implementation partners should assess current workflows and then redefine clinical and financial processes to reduce the time and resources required for system transition.
    
    But Cerner implementation support goes beyond the initial planning phase. Vendor partners should also be able to support system configuration/design/and build work, conduct end-user readiness assessments, provide integration services, administer quality assurance testing, and beyond. Finding a partner who ensures an optimized implementation from the start can help enhance Cerner system acceptance, eliminating delays in patient care or billing post live.
  
  

Pain Point #8

• Overburdened internal IT staff for organizations transitioning off Cerner – Balancing legacy system maintenance and data migration alongside a high-pressure go-live event often leaves internal IT teams overwhelmed. If legacy Cerner system support needs are overlooked or ineffective, healthcare facilities can become vulnerable to workflow, security, and interoperability problems down the road.
  
  
  • Solution: Legacy Support Services
    To alleviate internal team strain, consider supplemental legacy support as a cost-effective solution. With high-quality, 24/7 daily support, internal IT staff can focus on priority new system initiatives, feeling confident that Cerner support SLAs are still met or exceeded. Seek a Cerner legacy support vendor who can provide the same, if not enhanced, service levels to those previously experienced by end users. Beyond legacy application support ticket management, Cerner legacy teams should also manage reporting and system maintenance, with the ability to expand into additional projects including data archival, system sunsetting, or alternative facility support requests. A legacy support vendor should serve as a liaison with application vendors on behalf of the health system, acting as a strategic advisor during system transition.
    
    To alleviate new-user strain and avoid care delays post live, it is important to prioritize effective data migration. Although tedious work, it is crucial to pre-enter key data points for patients scheduled for the first several weeks of system go live. To efficiently transition data, supplemental support resources may be essential in reducing initial workload on staff as they adjust to the new Cerner system.
  
  
  

Oracle Cerner Support Challenges: Closing Thoughts

While increased competition and market pressures may leave health systems reeling, their IT departments must keep up with evolving support needs. Attaining these supplemental Oracle Cerner support options can offer a cost-effective reprieve for strained internal IT staff. By strategically optimizing support at every stage of the EHR system lifecycle, healthcare organizations can overcome market and resource obstacles for long-term operational success.