Patient Satisfaction With Electronic Health Record Use by Primary Care Nurse Practitioners

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient-Provider Communication
• Primary Care Research

Background:

• Patient engagement in healthcare is increasingly important.
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) offer potential for enhanced patient involvement.
• The impact of direct EHR viewing on patient-provider dynamics requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effect of patient viewing of EHRs on satisfaction and communication during nurse practitioner (NP) visits.
• To compare patient experiences in primary care when EHRs are visible versus not visible.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional experimental design was employed.
• Patients in the intervention group viewed EHR components during the NP history taking.
• Satisfaction scores were compared between the intervention (EHR viewing) and control (no EHR viewing) groups.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference was found in patient satisfaction scores between the group that viewed EHRs and the control group.
• The introduction of EHR viewing did not negatively or positively affect patient satisfaction with the NP visit.

Conclusions:

• Viewing electronic health records during a primary care visit does not appear to influence patient satisfaction with the nurse practitioner.
• Further research may explore other aspects of EHR interaction or different healthcare settings.