EHR-based emails directly send notifications to providers, but the number of notifications — and the amount of time providers spend reading them — is growing.
Researchers examined notifications received by all physicians at three primary care practices in Texas from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2015 using three different EHR systems. They found primary care physicians received an average of 76.9 notifications per day, and they spend an average of 66.8 minutes per day processing notifications.
The researchers suggest this time presents "a substantial burden" to physicians' workloads.
"Strategies to help filter messages relevant to high-quality care, EHR designs that support team-based care and staffing models that assist physicians in managing this influx of information are needed," the researchers concluded.
The study results were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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