EHR usability should be goal #1, according to the American Medical Association.
Electronic health records add value to the U.S. health care system, according to a new AMA report, but all too often their interface and design impede effective collaboration and patient care:
“Adoption and effective use of EHRs has been slow … in large part due to shortcomings with early generation EHRs that were, and frequently remain, poorly optimized to support efficient and effective clinical work provided by physicians and other clinicians.”
AMA solutions include EHRs that:
* Enhance physicians’ ability to provide high-quality patient care. EHRs that demand a lot of physician attention detract from patient interaction time, the AMA states. Priorities include EHR software with User-Centered Design “to meet the cognitive and workflow needs of physicians.” The association also calls for EHRs that fit seamlessly into medical practice and work well in different clinical settings.
* Offer product modularity and configurability. Electronic health records are not always configured to work in physician practices of different sizes, specialties and settings, the AMA notes. Customizable, flexible health IT that physicians can easily align to match their workflow and patient populations is needed.
* Facilitate digital and mobile patient engagement. Many current EHR systems do not help practices earn Stage 2 Meaningful Use incentives by engaging patients digitally. For this reason, EHRs that support patient portal interactions are another priority, the AMA states.
An Advisory Committee developed the AMA report based on feedback from 30 physician practices in 6 states participating in a RAND Corporation study.
Find out how CareCloud’s cloud-based EHR already incorporates many of these doctor-centric priorities using online health records solutions. For example, CareCloud Charts cloud-based EHR works seamlessly with the Community mobile patient portal.
