How well-conceived EHRs could make things easier for independent physicians

The ideal electronic health records (EHRs) solution will enable physicians to operate more efficiently and effectively, providing higher quality care to their patients. Maintaining patient records on paper, kept in files on a shelf, was not only time-consuming but increased the possibility of errors when handwriting could not be deciphered or papers were lost. The EHR provides the opportunity to input patient data during the visit and to easily access it before and after the visit.

Physicians have been challenged by the transition to EHRs, in part because their system may not have been designed to truly make things easier for them. The ideal electronic health records (EHRs) solution, such as Elation’s Clinical First EHR, keeps in mind the specific needs of very busy doctors who want to spend more time caring for their patients than interacting with technology.

A white paper published recently by Stanford Medicine cites the results of an online survey conducted in March 2018, of 521 primary care physicians in the fields of Family Practice, General Practice, and Internal Medicine. Asked how EHRs affected them and their practice, almost three-fourths of the survey respondents said that “the first order of business should be improving the user interface of EHRs to enhance efficiency and reduce screen time.”

Suggestions ranged from shifting data entry to clinical support staff to including a “highly accurate voice recording technology that would act as a scribe during patient visits.” Additionally, almost half of the primary care physicians participating in the survey noted that ideal electronic health records will be “transformed into a powerful tool that helps with clinical care, predictive analysis to support disease diagnosis and prevention, and population health management.”

Interoperability was the top concern for the primary care physicians. The Stanford Medicine white paper cites “the need to make patient data available easily and readily to professionals from all parts of the health care system for the benefit of the patient.”

Elation Health understands that well-conceived EHRs will make things easier for doctors by enabling them to access patient data easily and securely, coordinating with other healthcare providers for the patient’s care. Elation’s EHR solution provides physicians the ability to spend less screen time and more face time with their patients, as they chart, e-prescribe, and order lab tests all from the same screen. The Cockpit View eliminates back-and-forth linear workflows, letting doctors click less and do more for their patients.