Proficiency of First-Year Podiatric Medical Residents in the Use of Electronic Medical Records

The aim of this study was to survey podiatric residency directors to evaluate the proficiency of first-year podiatric medical residents in the use of electronic medical records and its potential impact on medical care.

An online survey consisting of Likert-scale, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions was sent via email to 216 podiatric residency directors. Questions were directed toward the level of proficiency in electronic medical records expected at the beginning of residency training and the impact on patient care of residents' inexperience with electronic medical records.

A total of 54 of the 216 podiatric medical residency directors completed the survey. Results indicated that 70.3 percent of respondent directors expected a moderate level of proficiency in the use of electronic medical records; however, 35.2 percent indicated that less than 50 percent of the new residents had experience with electronic medical records prior to starting residency training. Only 51.5 percent of respondent directors felt that the new residents were successful or highly successful in using their hospital's electronic medical record upon arrival, but that figure increased to 98.2 percent upon completion of the first year of residency. Of importance, 29.7 percent of respondent directors reported that inexperience in electronic medical record use resulted in a more-than-average to high impact on patient care, with open-ended responses including concerns about potential HIPAA violations, data breaches, or lost data.

Residency directors deem it important that incoming first-year residents have a basic understanding of electronic medical records and related health informatics concepts; however, in-depth knowledge is not expected because of the high number of software programs available. Nonetheless, nearly one-third of respondents reported that inexperience in electronic medical record use does have a significant impact on patient care.