New May Not Be Better: Hospital Returns to Paper and Happier Docs

By Brian Ward

The Illinois Pain Institute (IPI) was having trouble with its electronic health records (EHR). So they got rid of them and went back to paper. And they aren’t planning on going back anytime soon.

Two years ago, all 70 members of the IPI voted unanimously to get rid of its EHR saying it was slowing down care and alienating patients.

“We felt the level of patient care was not enhanced by an electronic health record. We saw it was inefficient and added nonproductive work to physicians’ time,” John Prunskis, MD, IPI founder and co-medical director told Becker’s Hospital Review. 

Since the switch, IPI has reported greater ease communicating information between hospital systems, less time spent on data entry, happier patients and staff.

“The EHR hinders data exchange,” he says. “One EHR doesn’t talk to another EHR, and there’s many reasons for that. The other thing is when you dictate a paper note with the relevant clinical findings and history, it’s rather succinct, but with the EHR, there’s a problem. The EHR is pages and pages of mind-numbing text, where important labs and information can be lost. Before, a note might be a half-page long, but now it can be five, six pages long, and doctors frequently can’t find what’s relevant through the reams of text and clutter.”

The IPI’s feelings are echoed by many physicians, according to the Mayo Clinic, which in 2016 found in EHR usage reduces physician satisfaction and increases burnout. Another study from the same year found that for every hour physicians spend with patients, they spend two hours interfacing with their EHR.

“Electronic health records hold great promise for enhancing coordination of care and improving quality of care,” said Tait Shanafelt, MD, Mayo Clinic physician and lead author of the study, in a statement. “In their current form and implementation, however, they have had a number of unintended negative consequences including reducing efficiency, increasing clerical burden and increasing the risk of burnout for physicians.”

Source: Accreditation & Quality Blog