While system-level change is required to make changes to EHR aspects that cause physician burnout, there are some measures physicians can try out to boost efficiency with their EHR in its current state, according to the American Academy of Pediatricians.
Heather O'Donnell, MD, a member of the AAP Council on Clinical Information Technology Executive Committee, shared five ways physicians can try to reduce their frustration with the EHR in an article for AAP News & Journals Gateway.
1. Incorporate personalization to the user experience. One example of this is using text extenders or expanders, which are short sequences of letters or a word that can be used to auto-produce a long string of text like sentences or even whole notes.
2. Get EHR savvy clinicians and staff more involved. These individuals can provide support for staff who use the EHR, develop practice-level personalizations, communicate with the EHR vendor or IT group about concerns and share EHR tips during practice meetings.
3. Invest in additional training. Institute ongoing EHR training for clinicians and staff. Large health system may have in-house training teams while smaller practices can ask their EHR vendor for information and training.
4. Consider ways to limit direct interactions with the EHR. For physicians struggling with using the EHR, investing in the use of scribes or voice recognition software can help free up time they've spent on charting.
5. Change daily protocols/workflow. Automate or transfer protocol responsibility to support staff for daily routines instead of physicians.