scholarly journals How well is the electronic health record supporting the clinical tasks of hospital physicians? A survey of physicians at three Norwegian hospitals

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Roger Schopf ◽  
Bente Nedrebø ◽  
Karl Ove Hufthammer ◽  
Inderjit Kaur Daphu ◽  
Hallvard Lærum

Abstract Background The electronic health record is expected to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. Many novel functionalities have been introduced in order to improve medical decision making and communication between health care personnel. There is however limited evidence on whether these new functionalities are useful. The aim of our study was to investigate how well the electronic health record system supports physicians in performing basic clinical tasks. Methods Physicians of three prominent Norwegian hospitals participated in the survey. They were asked, in an online questionnaire, how well the hospital’s electronic health record system DIPS supported 49 clinical tasks as well as how satisfied they were with the system in general, including the technical performance. Two hundred and eight of 402 physicians (52%) submitted a completely answered questionnaire. Results Seventy-two percent of the physicians had their work interrupted or delayed because the electronic health record hangs or crashes at least once a week, while 22% had experienced this problem daily. Fifty-three percent of the physicians indicated that the electronic health record is cumbersome to use and adds to their workload. The majority of physicians were satisfied with managing tests, e.g., requesting laboratory tests, reading test results and managing radiological investigations and electrocardiograms. Physicians were less satisfied with managing referrals. There was high satisfaction with some of the decision support functionalities available for prescribing drugs. This includes drug interaction alerts and drug allergy warnings, which are displayed automatically. However, physicians were less satisfied with other aspects of prescribing drugs, including getting an overview of the ongoing drug therapy. Conclusions In the survey physicians asked for improvements of certain electronic health record functionalities like medication, clinical workflow support including planning and better overviews. In addition, there is apparently a need to focus on system stability, number of logins, reliability and better instructions on available electronic health record features. Considerable development is needed in current electronic health record systems to improve usefulness and satisfaction.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. e22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Muinga ◽  
Steve Magare ◽  
Jonathan Monda ◽  
Onesmus Kamau ◽  
Stuart Houston ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 368-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Cato ◽  
B. Sheehan ◽  
S. Patel ◽  
J. Duchon ◽  
P. DeLaMora ◽  
...  

SummaryObjective: To develop and implement a clinical decision support (CDS) tool to improve antibiotic prescribing in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and to evaluate user acceptance of the CDS tool.Methods: Following sociotechnical analysis of NICU prescribing processes, a CDS tool for empiric and targeted antimicrobial therapy for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) was developed and incorporated into a commercial electronic health record (EHR) in two NICUs. User logs were reviewed and NICU prescribers were surveyed for their perceptions of the CDS tool.Results: The CDS tool aggregated selected laboratory results, including culture results, to make treatment recommendations for common clinical scenarios. From July 2010 to May 2012, 1,303 CDS activations for 452 patients occurred representing 22% of patients prescribed antibiotics during this period. While NICU clinicians viewed two culture results per tool activation, prescribing recommendations were viewed during only 15% of activations. Most (63%) survey respondents were aware of the CDS tool, but fewer (37%) used it during their most recent NICU rotation. Respondents considered the most useful features to be summarized culture results (43%) and antibiotic recommendations (48%).Discussion: During the study period, the CDS tool functionality was hindered by EHR upgrades, implementation of a new laboratory information system, and changes to antimicrobial testing methodologies. Loss of functionality may have reduced viewing antibiotic recommendations. In contrast, viewing culture results was frequently performed, likely because this feature was perceived as useful and functionality was preserved.Conclusion: To improve CDS tool visibility and usefulness, we recommend early user and information technology team involvement which would facilitate use and mitigate implementation challenges.Citation: Hum RS, Cato K, Sheehan B, Patel S, Duchon J, DeLaMora P, Ferng YH, Graham P, Vawdrey DK, Perlman J, Larson E, Saiman L. Developing clinical decision support within a commercial electronic health record system to improve antimicrobial prescribing in the neonatal ICU. Appl Clin Inf 2014; 5: 368–387 http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2013-09-RA-0069


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace E Kim ◽  
Olga K Afanasiev ◽  
Chris O’Dell ◽  
Christopher Sharp ◽  
Justin M Ko

Introduction Teledermatology services that function separately from patients’ primary electronic health record (EHR) can lead to fragmented care, poor provider communication, privacy concerns and billing challenges. This study addresses these challenges by developing PhotoCareMD, a store-and-forward (SAF) teledermatology consultation workflow built entirely within an existing Epic-based EHR. Methods Thirty-six primary care physicians (PCPs) from eight outpatient clinics submitted 215 electronic consults (eConsults) for 211 patients to a Stanford Health Care dermatologist via PhotoCareMD. Comparisons were made with in-person referrals for this same dermatologist prior to initiation of PhotoCareMD. Results Compared to traditional in-person dermatology clinic visits, eConsults decreased the time to diagnosis and treatment from 23 days to 16 hours. The majority (73%) of eConsults were resolved electronically. In-person referrals from PhotoCareMD (27%) had a 50% lower cancellation rate compared with traditional referrals (11% versus 22%). The average in-person visit and documentation was 25 minutes compared with 8 minutes for an eConsult. PhotoCareMD saved 13 additional clinic hours to be made available to the dermatologist over the course of the pilot. At four patients per hour, this opens 52 dermatology clinic slots. Over 96% of patients had a favourable experience and 95% felt this service saved them time. Among PCPs, 100% would recommend PhotoCareMD to their colleagues and 95% said PhotoCareMD was a helpful educational tool. Discussion An internal SAF teledermatology workflow can be effectively implemented to increase access to and quality of dermatologic care. Our workflow can serve as a successful model for other hospitals and specialties.


2006 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Rosenbloom ◽  
X. Qi ◽  
W. R. Riddle ◽  
W. E. Russell ◽  
S. C. DonLevy ◽  
...  

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