Use of Electronic Health Records Increased, But Productivity Decreased

Electronic health records (EHRs) are greatly being used by most of the ophthalmologists. However, it was found that EHR use has decreased their productivity, reveals a new study.

A previous survey study reported a rapid increase in the proportion of ophthalmologists using EHRs. Understanding EHR use by ophthalmologists and their impact on productivity can guide the design of future EHRs.

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‘Electronic health records (EHRs) had no effect on the cost and productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the efficiency and usability of EHR systems.’

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Around 348 U.S. ophthalmologists surveyed between 2015-2016.

The proportion of ophthalmologists adopting EHRs and their perceptions of clinical productivity measured as the number of patients seen each day.

This is a cross-sectional study in which the exposure (EHRs) and outcomes (perceptions of finances and clinical productivity) were measured at the same time and the association between the two was assessed.

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The authors were Michele C. Lim, M.D., University of California, Davis, and coauthors.

The results show that EHR adoption among U.S. ophthalmologists has more than doubled since 2011 to 72 percent; ophthalmologists' perceptions are more negative about the effect of EHRs on practice costs and productivity.

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The limitations of this study was that the response rate of the survey may not represent the opinions of U.S. ophthalmologists; financial data were not collected as part of the survey.

The research team concluded saying that negative perceptions of EHRs suggest more attention should be paid to improving the efficiency and usability of EHR systems.

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Source-Eurekalert