Readers Write: Beyond the Buzzword: Survey Shows What EHR Optimization Means to Providers

Beyond the Buzzword: Survey Shows What EHR Optimization Means to Providers
By David Lareau

David Lareau is CEO of Medicomp Systems of Chantilly, VA.

I was intrigued by this recent KPMG CIO survey that found “EMR system optimization” was currently the top investment priority for CIOs. The survey, which was based on the responses of 112 CHIME members, revealed that over the next three years, 38 percent of the CIOs plan to spend the majority of their capital investment on EHR/EMR optimization efforts.

The key word here is “optimization,” since over 95 percent of hospitals already have an EHR/EMR, according to the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC). Given the high level of provider dissatisfaction with their EHRs/EMRs, it’s not surprising that CIOs are seeking ways to make their doctors happier with existing solutions, since starting over with a new system would require a major capital investment that few hospitals are willing or able to afford.

In the KPMG report, the authors suggested a few ways CIOs could optimize their EMRs/EHRs, including providing effective user training and making more technology available remotely and via mobile devices.

Coincidentally, at HIMSS this year, we conducted our own survey to get a better understanding of what providers find most frustrating about working in their EHR/EMR. I am the first to admit our survey wasn’t the most scientific – the primary reason that almost 700 people agreed to participate in the survey was because it allowed them to enter our drawing for a vacation cruise – but nevertheless, the results were compelling.

We asked HIMSS attendees the following question: What is most frustrating about working in your EHR? We then offered the following response choices:

1. Relevant clinical information is hard to find
2. Documentation takes too long
3. Doesn’t fit into my existing workflow
4. Negatively impacts patient encounters
5. Doesn’t frustrate me
6. My organization doesn’t use an EHR

A whopping 44 percent selected the response, “Documentation takes too long.” For the sake of comparison, the next-highest response was, “Relevant information is hard to find” (18 percent), followed by, “My organization doesn’t use an EHR” (13 percent).

What I glean from these results – aside from the fact that CIOs would be well served to invest in solutions that improve documentation speed – is that CIOs and other decision makers may not be focused on the right solutions.

I am a big proponent of user training, but let’s be realistic: if you have a propeller-driven airplane, it’s never going to perform like a jet aircraft. CIOs must accept that even with all the training in the world, the documentation process within some legacy EHR systems will never be significantly faster, nor will it be particularly user friendly.

Rather than investing resources in trying to teach users how to make more efficient use of an inefficient system, why not consider investing in a solution that can easily be plugged into legacy systems and give clinicians the fast documentation tools they desire? CIOs can find technologies that work in conjunction with existing EHRs to alleviate provider frustration because they work the way doctors think, do not get in their way, and do not slow them down.

The KPMG survey confirms what most of us in healthcare IT have long known: EHRs have not yet achieved their full potential, providers are weary of the inefficiencies, and more resources must be spent to optimize the original investments. As CIOs and other decision-makers consider their next steps, I encourage them to assess what they now have and look for solutions that give clinicians what they want and need at the point of care.