Electronic Health Record Optimization and Clinician Well-Being: A Potential Roadmap Toward Action

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Shah ◽  
Andrea Borondy Kitts ◽  
Jeffrey A. Gold ◽  
Keith Horvath ◽  
Alex Ommaya ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-166
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Cochran ◽  
Kathleen Doo ◽  
Allison Squires ◽  
Tina Shah ◽  
Seppo Rinne ◽  
...  

Background: Health care specialty organizations are an important resource for their membership; however, it is not clear how specialty societies should approach combating stress and burnout on an organizational scale. Objective: To understand the prevalence of burnout syndrome in American Thoracic Society members, identify specialty-specific risk factors, and generate strategies for health care societies to combat burnout. Methods: Cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey in a sample of 2018 American Thoracic Society International Conference attendees to assess levels of burnout syndrome, work satisfaction, and stress. Results: Of the 130 respondents, 69% reported high stress, 38% met burnout criteria, and 20% confirmed chaotic work environments. Significant associations included sex and stress level; clinical time and at-home electronic health record work; and US practice and at-home electronic health record work. There were no significant associations between burnout syndrome and the selected demographics. Participants indicated patient care as the most meaningful aspect of work, whereas the highest contributors to burnout were workload and electronic health record documentation. Importantly, most respondents were unaware of available resources for burnout. Conclusions: Health care specialty societies have access to each level of the health system, creating an opportunity to monitor trends, disseminate resources, and influence the direction of efforts to reduce workplace stress and enhance clinician well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 1401-1410
Author(s):  
Ross W Hilliard ◽  
Jacqueline Haskell ◽  
Rebekah L Gardner

Abstract Objective The study sought to examine the association between clinician burnout and measures of electronic health record (EHR) workload and efficiency, using vendor-derived EHR action log data. Materials and Methods We combined data from a statewide clinician survey on burnout with Epic EHR data from the ambulatory sites of 2 large health systems; the combined dataset included 422 clinicians. We examined whether specific EHR workload and efficiency measures were independently associated with burnout symptoms, using multivariable logistic regression and controlling for clinician characteristics. Results Clinicians with the highest volume of patient call messages had almost 4 times the odds of burnout compared with clinicians with the fewest (adjusted odds ratio, 3.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.44-10.14; P = .007). No other workload measures were significantly associated with burnout. No efficiency variables were significantly associated with burnout in the main analysis; however, in a subset of clinicians for whom note entry data were available, clinicians in the top quartile of copy and paste use were significantly less likely to report burnout, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.22 (95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.93; P = .039). Discussion High volumes of patient call messages were significantly associated with clinician burnout, even when accounting for other measures of workload and efficiency. In the EHR, “patient calls” encompass many of the inbox tasks occurring outside of face-to-face visits and likely represent an important target for improving clinician well-being. Conclusions Our results suggest that increased workload is associated with burnout and that EHR efficiency tools are not likely to reduce burnout symptoms, with the exception of copy and paste.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane K. Boyle ◽  
Marianne Baernholdt ◽  
Jeffrey M. Adams ◽  
Susan McBride ◽  
Ellen Harper ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Sally L Baxter ◽  
Nate C Apathy ◽  
Dori A Cross ◽  
Christine Sinsky ◽  
Michelle R Hribar

Abstract Electronic health record (EHR) log data capture clinical workflows and are a rich source of information to understand variation in practice patterns. Variation in how EHRs are used to document and support care delivery is associated with clinical and operational outcomes, including measures of provider well-being and burnout. Standardized measures that describe EHR use would facilitate generalizability and cross-institution, cross-vendor research. Here, we describe the current state of outpatient EHR use measures offered by various EHR vendors, guided by our prior conceptual work that proposed seven core measures to describe EHR use. We evaluate these measures and other reporting options provided by vendors for maturity and similarity to previously proposed standardized measures. Working toward improved standardization of EHR use measures can enable and accelerate high-impact research on physician burnout and job satisfaction as well as organizational efficiency and patient health.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu Mohan ◽  
Cort Garrison ◽  
Jeffrey A Gold

UNSTRUCTURED Physician burnout in the United States has been growing at an alarming rate, and health care organizations are beginning to invest significant resources in combating this phenomenon. Although the causes for burnout are multifactorial, a key issue that affects physicians is that they spend a significant proportion of their time interacting with their electronic health record (EHR) system, primarily because of the need to sift through increasing amounts of patient data, coupled with a significant documentation burden. This has led to physicians spending increasing amounts of time with the EHR outside working hours trying to catch up on paperwork (“pajama time”), which is a factor linked to burnout. In this paper, we propose an innovative model of EHR training using high-fidelity EHR simulations designed to facilitate efficient optimization of EHR use by clinicians and emphasize the importance of both lifelong learning and physician well-being.


Author(s):  
Oliver T Nguyen ◽  
Shivani Shah ◽  
Alexander J Gartland ◽  
Arpan Parekh ◽  
Kea Turner ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Although nurses comprise the largest group of health professionals and electronic health record (EHR) user base, it is unclear how EHR use has affected nurse well-being. This systematic review assesses the multivariable (ie, organizational, nurse, and health information technology [IT]) factors associated with EHR-related nurse well-being and identifies potential improvements recommended by frontline nurses. Materials and Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ProQuest, and Web of Science for literature reporting on EHR use, nurses, and well-being. A quality appraisal was conducted using a previously developed tool. Results Of 4583 articles, 12 met inclusion criteria. Two-thirds of the studies were deemed to have a moderate or low risk of bias. Overall, the studies primarily focused on nurse- and IT-level factors, with 1 study examining organizational characteristics. That study found worse nurse well-being was associated with EHRs compared with paper charts. Studies on nurse-level factors suggest that personal digital literacy is one modifiable factor to improving well-being. Additionally, EHRs with integrated displays were associated with improved well-being. Recommendations for improving EHRs suggested IT-, organization-, and policy-level solutions to address the complex nature of EHR-related nurse well-being. Conclusions The overarching finding from this synthesis reveals a critical need for multifaceted interventions that better organize, manage, and display information for clinicians to facilitate decision making. Our study also suggests that nurses have valuable insight into ways to reduce EHR-related burden. Future research is needed to test multicomponent interventions that address these complex factors and use participatory approaches to engage nurses in intervention development.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Anderson ◽  
Jason Leubner ◽  
Steven R. Brown

Background and Objectives: Time spent in the electronic health record (EHR), away from direct patient care, is associated with physician burnout. Yet there is a lack of evidence quantifying EHR use among family physicians. The purpose of the study was to describe a method for quantifying habits and duration of use within the electronic health record in family medicine residents and faculty with particular attention paid to time spent after hours. Methods: We audited EHR time for family medicine residents and faculty using an EHR vendor-provided, web-based tracking system. We collected and analyzed the number of patient encounters, total time in the EHR per patient, total time in the EHR after hours by physicians for a 6-month time period. Results: Over the 6-month period reviewed, family medicine trainees and faculty saw between one and 164 patients monthly, spent between 17 and 217 minutes in the EHR per patient, and spent between 0 and 33 hours in the EHR after hours per month. Conclusions: Family medicine residents spend a significant amount of time completing EHR tasks after hours. Objective EHR data can be used by family medicine residency programs to devise interventions to decrease inefficient use of the EHR, decrease after-hours EHR use, and improve well-being.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
Rosemary Griffin

National legislation is in place to facilitate reform of the United States health care industry. The Health Care Information Technology and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) offers financial incentives to hospitals, physicians, and individual providers to establish an electronic health record that ultimately will link with the health information technology of other health care systems and providers. The information collected will facilitate patient safety, promote best practice, and track health trends such as smoking and childhood obesity.


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