By Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer for Sunrise™, Altera Digital Health
As a former practicing OB-GYN, I do not speak for all physicians, but I can confidently assume people are not entering the medical field because of a passion for electronic health records (EHRs). While EHRs have transformed far beyond their origins as billing systems, they have yet to live up to their full potential. It is easy to get caught up with exciting new developments across our industry, but before we can fully embrace those, we have to face EHRs’ usability problem.
So, just how usable is your organization’s EHR? Consider these three factors:
1. Flexibility is fundamental
EHRs that adhere to industry best practices help contain the number of clicks needed to execute a particular workflow and make training easier for new staff members familiarizing themselves with a system. That said, hitting a sweet spot with EHR flexibility can greatly improve organizational efficiency and user satisfaction. Systems that strike a balance between standard workflows and configuration, customization and personalization help address the unique needs and priorities of individual organizations and finetune the user experience. For example, one study found that highly satisfied EHR users are nearly twice as likely as average users to have highly personalized the EHR.
It is also no secret that legacy EHR players often discourage (if not prevent) organizations from leveraging solutions from other technology developers. This kind of rigidity does nothing to improve the lives of patients or providers. The healthcare ecosystem has never been more vibrant, and organizations should be able to take full advantage of that. This is why Altera Digital Health has taken a different approach with Sunrise™ and its open architecture. By embracing flexibility, the EHR can bend toward what organizations need today, and stretch to prepare for the demands of tomorrow.
2. Getting inside the mind of the clinician
Implementing EHR technology that is easy to use is no longer an option, but a requirement. Projections show that by 2032, the nationwide physician shortage may reach nearly 122,000, and we are seeing similar predictions for advanced practice providers, nurses and other healthcare professionals. With the growth of the aging population and prevalence of chronic conditions, we cannot afford to lose clinicians to solvable challenges just because they are complex.
Altera’s answer to this problem is bringing real users into the various stages of design and development. Nobody knows a clinician’s workflow better than those managing their time between patients and technology every day. When documentation can be completed as a byproduct of a provider’s natural clinical evaluation and treatment process, the EHR becomes an asset rather than a burden. From the ability to chart anywhere on everyday devices like smartphones, to leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and ambient voice capabilities that reduce administrative tasks, Altera is always looking for ways to more closely align EHRs to the way providers think and work.
3. Meaningful data, when and where it’s needed
Federal incentives for EHR adoption have been largely successful, as more than 96% of all non-federal acute care hospitals now use certified health IT. However, quantity does not equal quality. According to a KLAS study, 44% of clinicians say their EHR does not load fast enough, and 23% say their EHR is not available when needed. When the EHR is available and responsive, inconsistent interoperability often remains; approximately 30% of non-federal acute hospitals are still not sending, receiving, finding and integrating data with disparate organizations. And, even when an organization engages in seamless data exchange, providers are often still combing through patient histories to find the right information. This paradigm is frustrating at best and a hindrance to patient safety and outcomes at worst.
Accessible, exchangeable, actionable data is as essential as any medical supply. This understanding has fueled Altera’s investments in technologies like the cloud and containerized services to minimize downtime and make incremental updates in the background. At the individual user level, this means bringing relevant data to the forefront and reducing how often clinicians have to leave their workflows to find what they need.
Doing things differently
It is time to start thinking differently about EHRs, and if yours does not have high usability, it is time to start thinking about an alternative. Altera aims to bring healthcare to a higher place. Will your EHR get you there?
Learn more about Sunrise from Altera Digital Health here.