EHRs hinder productivity, some physicians say

EHRs are reaching market saturation, yet office-based providers continue to report struggles with productivity, workflow and usability related to their use, according to a report published by IDC Health Insights.

The report reflected views of 212 ambulatory and hospital-based providers. Of the ambulatory providers, 58 percent said they were dissatisfied, very dissatisfied or neutral about their experience with ambulatory EHRs. The two most frequently cited reasons for EHR dissatisfaction involved lost productivity, including increased time on documentation (85 percent) and a drop in the number of patients seen (66 percent).

However, some providers experienced benefits from EHR use; they cited a reduction in missing or lost charts (82 percent), ability to access medical records and work remotely (75 percent) and incentive payment (56 percent). The top five EHR tasks reported by physicians included accessing patient information, documenting care, ePrescribing, viewing labs and diagnostic tests result, and entering orders, according to the report.

IDC Health Insights urged providers to optimize their EHRs and prioritize EHR use in their strategic plan. According to the report, success and productivity with EHRs will grow in importance as EHRs become the building blocks for care management, patient engagement and patient-centered medical home operations under accountable care.

"Despite achieving Meaningful Use, most office-based providers find themselves at lower productivity levels than before the implementation of EHR. Workflow, usability, productivity and supplier quality issues continue to drive dissatisfaction and need to be addressed by suppliers and practices,” IDC Research Director Judy Hanover said in a statement.