The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit research and policy organization, penned a letter Jan. 28 to ONC, encouraging the agency to prioritize EHR usability as it finalizes its strategy to reduce clinician burnout.
In November, ONC and CMS released a draft of a new strategy to reduce administrative and regulatory burdens placed on clinicians by inefficient health IT processes. The strategy outlined three overarching goals to alleviate clinician burden, focused on documentation, regulatory reporting and usability issues in EHRs.
In its response, The Pew Charitable Trusts urged ONC to take a number of steps to improve the usability of EHRs, including considerations to EHR systems' design, implementation and usage. The nonprofit said EHR usability is a key concern for the healthcare industry, given that issues with usability have been linked to patient harm.
In particular, The Pew Charitable Trusts said developing specific certification requirements for EHRs used in pediatric care would "improve safety via enhanced usability."
"EHRs designed for use in adult populations may overlook differences in the care of children — such as growth patterns — and introduce the opportunity for error," the letter reads. "Poor usability can make it challenging for physicians to prescribe the correct weight-based dose of a drug, and potentially lead to children receiving the wrong amount of a medication."
The ONC is required to establish a voluntary certification program for EHRs used in pediatric care under the 21st Century Cures Act, though the regulations are still forthcoming. When developing these certifications, The Pew Charitable Trusts said the ONC should focus on usability and require input from end-users — in this case, pediatricians.
To read The Pew Charitable Trusts' letter in its entirety, click here.