Electronic health record (EHR) training program identifies a new tool to quantify the EHR time burden and improves...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Education
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Electronic Health Records (EHR) are integral to modern healthcare delivery.
• Optimizing EHR use is crucial for provider efficiency and satisfaction.
• Supplemental training aims to address persistent challenges with EHR utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of additional EHR training on provider satisfaction.
• To assess changes in personal EHR usage time and task turnaround times post-training.
• To explore the relationship between EHR training and provider workload control.

Main Methods:

• A pre-post study design was employed without a control group.
• Academic and community clinicians with 20 months of EHR experience received supplemental training.
• Data collected included self-reported metrics, calculated EHR usage time, and vendor-reported turnaround times.

Main Results:

• Providers reported significant improvement in knowledge of EHR efficiency tools and doubled preference list entries.
• Satisfaction significantly improved for 'Control over my workload in the EHR' (P<.01).
• No significant decrease in EHR usage outside clinic (CLOC time) or turnaround time for patient calls/results was observed.

Conclusions:

• Individualized EHR training can enhance EHR tool knowledge and perceived workload control.
• Supplemental training did not reduce Clinician Logged-In Outside Clinic (CLOC) time or improve inbox task turnaround.
• CLOC time may be a cost-effective surrogate metric for provider EHR satisfaction; further research on interventions is warranted.