Little attention directed to medication lists, vital signs and lab results in EHRs

Physicians pay very little attention to medication lists, vital signs or laboratory results compared with the impression and plan section of electronic notes, according to a study published in Applied Clinical Informatics.

The study, conducted by researchers from Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., and the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, examined how physicians distribute their visual attention while reading electronic notes.

The researchers utilized an eye-tracking device to assess the visual attention patterns of ten hospitalists as they read three electronic notes. They looked at time spent reading specific sections of a note in addition to rates of reading.

This visual analysis was compared with the content of simulated verbal handoffs for each note and debriefing interviews, according to the study.

Researchers found that study participants spent the bulk of their time in the "impression and plan” section of electronic notes, which they read very slowly. The participants spent less time looking over sections on medication profile, vital signs and laboratory results, and they read these sections very quickly even if they contained more content than the impression and plan.

Only 9 percent of the content of physicians’ verbal handoff was found outside of the “impression and plan,” the researchers found.

“Optimizing the design of electronic notes may include rethinking the amount and format of imported patient data as this data appears to largely be ignored,” concluded the authors.

Access the study here.