Everyone loves new features and in the EHR industry, they are often required. Whether the new EHR features are for Meaningful Use, Quality Measures, or Surescripts new requirements and the drive for new features keep coming.
In programming, new features often come at a price. That price is often in the physician's workflow. Whether the new features add more steps (more clicks) to an already burgeoning list of things he/she has to do, or those features slow the system down.
As Steve Jobs said, people don't know what they want until you give it to them. Doctors like all the features that come with some of the large EHR systems, but when using EHRs, they want speed. They have limited time with their patients and don't want to use it inside an EHR.
There are two places that EHRs can improve speed. One is at the code level. Making sure their code is updated, works well with new additions, is on a strong platform, and with optimize database management. This help with the spinning wheel when waiting to go from one screen to the next.
The other way is often over looked. And that is work flow. How do doctors think and how do they want their charts to look and feel. Is it intuitive and does it use the least number of clicks. This is where most EHRs fail their clients. And until this becomes a top priority, the true benefits of EHRs for physicians cannot be realized.
No comments:
Post a Comment