5 usability issues in EHRs that may harm patients
While electronic health records (EHRs) have improved the safety and quality of patient health information, the shift from paper to digital interfaces has introduced a new set of barriers that may contribute to patient harm.
An infographic published by the Pew Charitable Trusts outlines five usability issues that harm patients and two recommendations in making EHR use safer.
Usability issues included:
- Alert fatigue: Ignoring of alerts, due to the overwhelming number of them, could cause clinicians to overlook important lifesaving alerts.
- Unintended consequences of customization: Some healthcare systems have implemented a customized version of EHRs to fit workflow, but these customized systems may have missed the proper testing and could harm patients with unnoticed security concerns.
- Auto refresh mix-up: Sorting patients by last name or bed number gives clinicians a view of the patient’s profile fasters, but auto refreshing can bring back default settings and leave clinicians accidentally making medical decisions for the wrong patient.
- Unclear default settings: The default settings on medication dosages could lead to clinicians to giving patients the wrong amount of their prescriptions.
- Incomplete lab results: Lab results in EHRs can be displayed while not all the findings have been sent in, leaving clinicians in the dark about some patient results and making a medical decision without all the facts.
Recommendations for improved EHR usability included:
- Health information technology safety collaborative: A safety collaboration with stakeholders regarding interoperability and patient data safety could result in solutions for common and complex usability issues.
- Safety testing during development and after implementation: Continually testing the EHR system, before and after implementation, would ensure a level of safety for developers and clinicians.
Cara Livernois, News Writer
Cara joined TriMed Media in 2016 and is currently a Senior Writer for Clinical Innovation & Technology. Originating from Detroit, Michigan, she holds a Bachelors in Health Communications from Grand Valley State University.