Analyses of electronic health records utilization in a large community hospital

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) has become an integral component of healthcare delivery. Survey based studies have estimated that physicians spend 4-6 hours of their workday devoted to EHR. Our study was designed to use computer software to objectively obtain time spent on EHR.

We recorded EHR time for 248 physiciansover 2 time intervals. EHR active use was defined as more than 15 keystrokes, or 3 mouse clicks, or 1700 "mouse miles" per minute. We recorded total time and % of work hours spent on EHR, and differences in those based on seniority. Physicians reported duty hours using a standardized toolkit.

Physicians spent 3.8 (±2) hours on EHR daily, which accounted for 37% (±17%), 41% (±14%), and 45% (±12%) of their day for all clinicians, residents, and interns, respectively. With the progression of training, there was a reduction in EHR time (all p values <0.01). During the first academic quarter, clinicians spent 38% (± 8%) of time on chart review, 17% (± 7%) on orders, 28% (±11%) on documentation (i.e. writing notes) and 17% (±7%) on other activities (i.e. physician hand-off and medication reconciliation). This pattern remained unchanged during the fourth quarter.

Physicians spend close to 40% of their work day on EHR, with interns spending the most time. There is a significant reduction in time spent on EHR with training and greater experience, although the overall amount of time spent on EHR remained high.