Excessive documentation requirements for EHRs commonly contribute to clinician burnout. Enhancing the existing functions of EHRs may be better than transitioning to newly developed programs in the future, according to a March study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
For the study, researchers evaluated 209,055 vital sign comments in flowsheets generated in Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center Epic EHR in 2018.
Researchers examined text comments entered into EHR flowsheets to assess opportunities to simplify EHR functions.
The study concluded that flowsheet comments are generally not displayed in EHRs and do not automatically populate into clinical notes. This causes clinicians to repeatedly type similar notes in multiple locations.
The findings suggest flowsheet comment software can be simplified by restructuring response fields to auto populate into clinician notes,among other examples.