Electronic Health Record Transition: The Patient Experience

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Experience Research
• Clinical Workflow Analysis

Background:

• Widespread bedside use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) raises concerns about potential negative impacts on patient-provider relationships.
• Limited evidence exists on how EHR transitions affect the patient experience in real-world clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an EHR system transition on the overall patient experience.
• To assess changes in point-of-care computer use, user comfort, and the patient-provider relationship post-EHR transition.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 55 patients across three non-equivalent groups.
• Data collected at baseline (pre-transition), 6 weeks post-transition, and 6 months post-transition.
• Patient surveys assessed computer use, comfort levels, and perceived impact on the patient-nurse/provider relationship.

Main Results:

• Patients perceived increased computer use by nurses and decreased use by other clinicians over time.
• Nurses reported sustained comfort with EHR use, while other clinicians' comfort declined.
• Nurses were perceived as more likely to positively impact the patient relationship compared to other clinicians.

Conclusions:

• The EHR transition did not appear to negatively affect the overall patient experience.
• Findings suggest nurses may play a key role in mitigating potential negative impacts of EHRs on patient relationships.
• Further research with robust methodologies is needed, and evidence-based guidelines for EHR integration are recommended.