EHR Training and Experience Lead to Decreased EHR Use by Residents

Are you satisfied with your EHR? Do you spend 40% of your day in your EHR? Research shows that some physicians do..

“Physicians at large community hospitals spend nearly four hours during work hours, or roughly 40 percent of their day, on the EHR, according to a study published in the Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE).

Additionally, researchers found a significant decrease in resident EHR use with increased training and experience, although the overall amount of time spent on the EHR remained high.

“Studies exploring EHR use emphasized extensive time as one of the significant drawbacks to EHR,” wrote the study authors. “It has been reported that physicians spend up to 6 hours a day on EHR in the hospital setting alone.”

However, the study authors noted many studies that document hours spent on the EHR system are self-reported. Researchers aimed to record data to illustrate how much total time is spent using the EHR and to analyze the levels of clinical experience to see if there is a correlation between hours worked and experience status.

In 2016, researchers conducted the study at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, a 651-bed tertiary hospital, over a separate two-week time period in the first and fourth quarters.

Researchers evaluated nearly 250 physicians with varying degrees of experience, from interns up to attending physicians. The team defined “EHR active use” as more than 15 keystrokes, three mouse clicks, or 1,700 “mouse miles” per minute. The team recorded total time and percentage of EHR use, along with physician level differences.

On top of tracking EHR use, researchers gave patients a five-question survey based on patient satisfaction and their perspective on physician EHR use.” …

Read the entire article at EHR Intelligence.

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