More physicians reporting dissatisfaction with EHR systems

(HealthDay)—More physicians report being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their electronic health record (EHR) system, compared with five years ago, according to a report published by the AmericanEHR Partners and the American Medical Association.

AmericanEHR Partners, founded by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Cientis Technologies, surveyed physicians on use of EHRs. In a similar survey conducted five years ago, most respondents reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their EHR system (39 and 22 percent, respectively); in the current survey, 22 and 12 percent, respectively, reported being satisfied and very satisfied.

According to the report, 42 percent of respondents thought their EHR system's ability to improve efficiency was difficult or very difficult and 72 percent thought their EHR system's ability to decrease workload was difficult or very difficult. More than half of respondents (54 percent) found that their total operating costs were increased with their EHR system. Forty-three percent reported that they had yet to overcome EHR-related productivity challenges.

"While EHR systems have the promise of improving patient care and practice efficiency, we are not yet seeing those effects," Shari Erickson, M.P.H., vice president of ACP's Division of Governmental Affairs and Medical Practice, said in a statement. "We need to focus on figuring out how we can help physicians and practices to more effectively implement and use these systems."