KLAS: Providers take on bulk on EHR usability issues

Although 3,500 hospitals have met Meaningful Use (MU) Stage 1 requirements, there’s been a clarion call across the community for improved EHR usability.

Research firm KLAS interviewed 128 providers about achieving a high level of usability with their systems.

None of the EHR vendors scored above a 4 (on a 1–5 scale) for clinical usability. Epic’s prescriptive implementation approach puts users furthest along the path of high usability, but has room to optimize, according to KLAS. Cerner clients have done more on their own, but report Cerner is turning a corner with both technology and service improvements. Allscripts and Siemens offer high flexibility, but the systems require extensive effort from providers. McKesson Paragon and Meditech v.6 clients say their vendors are still trying to get the basics down.

Providers have assumed the bulk of the responsibility for making EHRs usable, with 86 percent reporting moderate to extensive effort required to configure their EHR vendor’s solution. Respondents applauded the ability of Allscripts, Cerner and Siemens to modify platforms, but overall, providers want more effort and direction on usability from vendors. Epic clients reported the least amount of effort needed and the best capability at the go-live.

Stage 2 requires providers to increase EHR usage in some of the least usable areas: physician documentation, medication reconciliation and problem lists. While user behavior is a key factor, EHR user interfaces can either facilitate or discourage adoption. Cerner and Epic are best poised to support deep clinical usage, while Allscripts, McKesson, Meditech and Siemens Healthcare clients noted more cause for concern.