Physicians continue to use both paper- and computer-based workarounds when faced with electronic health record usability issues, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Information Association.
Researchers observed physicians at 11 outpatient centers across the country to examine how physicians are getting around various design obstacles or inefficiencies.
Researchers identified 11 total categories of workarounds. Five were paper-based, such as sticky-note reminders, one was computer-based (data entry modification when an appropriate option was not presented in the interface) and five had both paper and computer steps.
Because these 11 categories were seen consistently among physicians at all the studied institutions, the researchers note that EHRs currently on the market most likely have design and usability flaws.
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