When electronic health records (EHRs) started mushrooming on the landscape in the early 2000s, they were met by significant resistance.1 That wasn’t a surprise. Poor usability, expense, and time-consuming training made an unappealing package for physicians.
Now, it’s almost impossible to find a healthcare facility that doesn’t use EHRs. Almost 90% of office-based physicians, and 96% of hospitals, use some sort of EHR system.2,3
While they’ve improved over the years, they still present some challenges. EHRs hold a vast amount of patient data, which has the potential to improve public health. But with so much information, and with the complexity of EHR systems, extracting the most meaningful data can be overwhelming.
As a physician, how can you make EHRs more helpful tools to your practice? Here are 7 recommendations.
1 Health Affairs (March 2004)
2 Health IT (December 2016)
3 Modern Healthcare (May 31, 2016)