A new KLAS report offers detailed insight into how physician interactions with electronic health records (EHR) systems can improve turnover rates.
The report shares data from more than 200 physicians across three organizations pertaining to their intentions to either leave or stay with their health system in the coming years. It also includes additional insight from 54 physicians who had a change of heart after previously expressing plans to leave, and it details factors specific to EHRs that influence physicians’ job satisfaction.
Many of the physicians who expressed a desire to leave suggested that they would be interested in engaging with their organization through EHR training. In fact, 67% of those who ultimately did leave their health system indicated that they wanted more EHR education, noting that it would improve workflows.
Similar sentiments were observed among the 54 physicians who decided to stay at their organization after previously planning to leave. Those providers reported reduced after-hours workloads and “alleviation of a chaotic environment” that contributed to their burnout as factors that drove their decision to stay.
Those physicians also specifically mentioned their efficient use of the EHR as an element that improved their job satisfaction. In line with their reported experiences, the report offered several tactics that organizations and physicians can deploy to address the issue of increased workloads and chaotic environments.
Organizations can improve work environments by addressing EHR upgrades, which are known by many to be somewhat disruptive. Creating schedules to prepare for and test upgrades, in addition to scheduling training sessions on upgrade features, can make the process more seamless for physicians. Providing meaningful best-practice alerts that help prevent care mistakes also can help calm chaotic environments, the report notes.
In terms of physician-specific interventions, charting backlogs can be addressed to reduce after hours work. Routinely generating reports from the EHR database can identify charts in need of clinician attention. Managers can use these reports to spot providers who are falling behind and can provide those individuals with the charts that need to be addressed to prevent further backlogs.
Increasing the use of macros and personalizing EHRs to physicians’ specific needs also was highlighted by the providers who decided to stay with their organization as a big contributor to job satisfaction. The most satisfied providers detailed use of smart phrases, personalized filters, smart orders, customized toolbars, etc. This takes some time to set up on the front end but improves workflows in the long term, the report suggested.
Combined, these factors bring light to "the broad importance of enabling physicians to acquire necessary skills and knowledge to effectively navigate EHR systems,” the report stated.
The full report can be viewed here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.