The American Journal of Emergency Medicine conducted research and found that emergency doctors “spend significantly more time entering data into electronic health records than they do with patients.” The study concluded that “improved efficiency in data entry would allow emergency physicians to devote more time to patient care…”
According to the published paper, emergency physicians spent 43 percent of their time entering data on a given day. Only 28 percent of their time was spent directly interacting with patients. And, during a busy, 10-hour shift, total mouse clicks neared 4,000.
Here’s what the paper’s author, Robert Hill, M.D. from St. Luke’s University Health Network in Allentown, Pa., had to say:
“Emergency department physicians spend significantly more time entering data into electronic medical records than on any other activity, including direct patient care.”
He lists out factors that get in the way of efficient EHR usage, including operating system speed, server/mainframe responsiveness, typing skills, user-friendliness of system, interruptions, extent of training, opportunity to delegate tasks, and various environmental attributes. However, in his opinion, “Efficient use of the EMR system will increase physician productivity and hospital revenue.” We couldn’t agree more. If you agree with his thinking, too, you can tweet it right now.