Electronic records may lower physician satisfaction

Physicians find electronic health record (EHR) software cumbersome and an important contributor to their professional dissatisfaction.

That's according to a study from nonprofit research organization RAND, which performed the study for the American Medical Association. The research project sought to explore factors affecting physician professional satisfaction, and dissatisfaction with electronic health records was one of the key findings of the study, according to RAND.

Those surveyed were concerned that current EHR technology interferes with face-to-face discussions with patients, requires physicians to spend too much time performing clerical work, and degrades the accuracy of medical records by encouraging template-generated notes.

Physicians also worry that the technology has been more costly than expected, and different types of electronic health records are unable to "talk" to each other, preventing the transmission of patient medical information when it's needed, according to the group.

While physicians believe in the benefits of EHRs and most do not want to go back to paper charts, they also report that electronic systems are deeply problematic in several ways, lead author Dr. Mark Friedberg of RAND said in a statement.

Medical practices reported experimenting with ways to reduce physician frustration, RAND noted, with some employing additional staff members to perform many of the tasks involved in using electronic records. This helps doctors focus their EHR interactions on activities that require a physician's training, according to the firm.

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