While the goal of electronic health records is to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care, the findings suggest that in reality, EHRs are taking time away from physicians’ interactions with patients and families, said study leader Dr. Christine Sinsky, vice president of professional satisfaction at the American Medical Association.
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Overall, that means that for every hour the doctors spent in direct contact with patients, they spent almost two additional hours on electronic record-keeping and similar clerical work, the study found.
The study, which observed 57 outpatient physicians for 430 hours, also found that nearly half of the doctors reported working one to two hours after-hours each night, mostly on the records. And, when it came to outside office hours, doctors spent another one to two hours of personal time each night doing additional clerical work, mostly related to EHRs.
Researchers followed 57 physicians across four specialties: family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology and orthopedics. “This is not sustainable”. They added that while correlations between increases in EHR task load and physician burnout and attrition have been shown in the past, little quantitative data is available on how physicians spend their time.
One symptom of burnout is a lack of feeling effective in their work environment, said Sinsky, and sometimes a physician may feel as though they aren’t making a difference in their patient’s life.
Dr. Stack highlighted the new study in a presentation to entrepreneurs at MATTER, a Chicago-based health care technology incubator and partner in AMA’s effort to have physicians play an influential role in leading innovations that move health care forward. In the survey, conducted between August and October 2014, doctors indicated that the use of EHRs and computerized physician order entry resulted in lower satisfaction and higher rates of professional burnout. “The work of physicians has changed dramatically in recent years, at least partially due to EHRs”.
The study was published September 5 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
The 26 physicians who used documentation support, such as dictation or a documentation assistant, engaged in more face time with patients than those who did not.
In the exam room, doctors spent about 53 percent of their time in direct contact with patients and 37 percent on E-health records and other clerical work, the study found.
“Now is the time to go beyond complaining about EHRs and other practice hassles and to make needed changes to the healthcare system that will redirect our focus from the computer screen to our patients and help us rediscover the joy of medicine”.
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The AMA believes that a better-designed EHR system may help physicians manage their work and feel less burnout, which in turn, helps patients receive better care from their doctor.
