Survey: Most doctors believe EHRs negatively impact patient relationships, workflow
A majority of physicians believe electronic health records (EHRs) negatively impact their relationships with patients, productivity and workflow, according to a recent survey by The Doctors Company.
The organization recently released the findings from its nationwide “Future of Healthcare Survey,” which looks at physicians’ views on changes in the healthcare industry and how those changes impact their care. The report surveyed more than 3,400 doctors nationwide and received more than 2,200 written comments.
The survey’s findings revealed that EHRs and regulation were named as two of the top causes of physician burnout. It also found that 54 percent of doctors believe EHRs have a negative impact on relationships with patients, saying they’re too burdensome and distracting.
It also revealed 61 percent of doctors believe EHRs have a negative impact on efficiency, productivity and workflow. According to the survey, several physician comments expressed frustration with the functionality, reliability and lack of interoperability of EHRs.
“EHR implementation has had a mostly negative impact on healthcare because of badly designed EHRs, which are cumbersome and user unfriendly,” a comment featured in the survey report said.
“Good eye-to-eye patient care is dying. Computers have decreased the physician-patient relation. Doctors can’t type and have good patient observation and attention simultaneously,” the another featured comment said.
Other findings from the survey revealed seven out of 10 doctors are unwilling to recommend healthcare as a profession; 61 percent of doctors believe value-based care and reimbursement will have a negative impact on their practice; and 63 percent believe it will have a negative impact on their earnings.
Danielle covers Clinical Innovation & Technology as a senior news writer for TriMed Media. Previously, she worked as a news reporter in northeast Missouri and earned a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's also a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls.