A survey by AmericanEHR Partners and the American Medical Association shows that close to, or more than, half of all physician respondents reported a negative impact in response to questions about how their EHR system improved costs, efficiency or productivity. AmericanEHR Partners was founded by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Cientis Technologies.
The questions on the impact of EHR systems on practice yielded the following results:
- 42 percent thought their EHR system’s ability to improve efficiency was difficult or very difficult.
- 72 percent thought their EHR system’s ability to decrease workload was difficult or very difficult.
- 54 percent found their EHR system increased their total operating costs.
- 43 percent said they had yet to overcome the productivity challenges related to their EHR system.
Primary care physicians were more likely than specialists to report satisfaction with various aspects of the EHR system and to indicate a positive impact on practice. The report suggests that the difference could be explained by the longer period of time, on average, that primary care physicians have used their EHR systems compared to specialists. Among survey respondents, primary care physicians had used their EHR systems for a year longer than specialists, on average.
In a similar survey conducted by AmericanEHR five years ago, the majority of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their EHR system, with 39 percent being satisfied and 22 percent being very satisfied. In the current survey, only 22 percent indicated they were satisfied and 12 percent indicated they were very satisfied.
The results presented in the survey report were collected through surveys conducted by AmericanEHR Partners in conjunction with the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians between May 30, 2014, and July 18, 2014. A total of 940 surveys were completed.
For more information about the report, visit http://bit.ly/PhysicianUseofEHR2014.