Physicians believe they are providing quality care, which gives them high job satisfaction. However, the problems associated with using electronic health records (EHR) decreased that satisfaction, according to a recent RAND survey.
- Poor EHR usability
- Time-consuming data entry
- Interference with face-to-face patient care
- Inefficient and less fulfilling work content
- Inability to exchange health information between EHR products
- Degradation of clinical documentation
That final complaint—degradation of clinical documentation—may be the most concerning for HIM staff and coders.
Coders rely on complete and accurate physician documentation when coding charts. Incomplete documentation leads to additional coder queries. Some EHRs provide templates for queries, another complaint from physicians in the RAND survey.
Some organizations are already taking steps to resolve physician complaints about EHRs, according to the survey.
Read the entire report, “Factors Affecting Physician Professional Satisfaction and Their Implications for Patient Care, Health Systems, and Health Policy” online.