Study: EMRs help, hinder docs

WASHINGTON – A new study from the Center for Studying Health System Change says commercial electronic medical records both help and hinder doctors’ real-time, face-to-face or phone communication with patients and other clinicians.
The study, supported by the Commonwealth Fund, found that EMRs help doctors by giving them immediate access to patient information, allowing them to spend less time searching through paper records. But for some clinicians, EMRs are also distracting, and gathering information for the EMR can also take away from other communication.
“Electronic medical records are a double-edged sword when it comes to communication with patients and other clinicians,” said HSC Senior Researcher Dr. Ann S. O’Malley, co-author of the study.
“The study findings suggest that continued refinement of EMRs design by vendors and their use by clinicians could help reduce the potential for distraction during patient visits,” O’Malley added. “In particular, policies promoting EMR adoption should consider incorporating communication-skills training for medical trainees and clinicians using EMRs.”
The study is based on a total of 60 in-depth interviews – 52 physicians and other staff at 26 small and medium-sized physician practices with commercial ambulatory EMRs in place for at least two years; chief medical officers at four EMR vendors; and four national experts active in health information technology implementation.
The findings are detailed in a new HSC Issue Brief, “Electronic Medical Records and Communication with Patients and Other Clinicians: Are We Talking Less?” It is available online at www.hschange.org.