In a current American Medical Informatics Affiliation (AMIA) nationwide survey, 77.42% of respondents reported ending work later than desired or needing to work from home resulting from extreme EHR documentation duties.
The primary AMIA TrendBurden survey, a part of an effort to seize perceptions of EHR documentation burden by means of biannual assessments, ran from April 10-30, 2024, and acquired 1,253 responses from healthcare professionals throughout 49 states and the District of Columbia. The respondents included 35.67% physicians/surgeons, 24.72% registered nurses, 13.65% different professionals, 8.38% educators, and 5.83% licensed social staff.
These professionals labored in varied settings: 31.76% in outpatient clinics, 30.17% in inpatient/hospital settings, 21.47% in educational medical facilities, 21.15% in community-based organizations, and 9.58% in telemedicine/telehealth.
Key findings from the survey, a part of the AMIA 25×5 Initiative, reveal vital considerations concerning documentation effort and time and spotlight the numerous unfavorable impression extreme documentation burden has on work-life integration amongst healthcare professionals. “The effort and time required by healthcare professionals for documentation is severely impacting their work-life integration,” mentioned Vicky Tiase, Ph.D., R.N.-B.C., in an announcement. “Addressing this situation is crucial to assist the well-being of our clinicians and guarantee they will proceed to supply high-quality affected person care.”
When requested about current adjustments in documentation burden, most respondents (66.64%) disagreed that there had been a current lower within the time or effort wanted to finish documentation duties, with physicians (74.2%) reporting this greater than nurses (60.8%). The perceived impression of documentation on affected person care is notable, with 74.38% of respondents agreeing that the time required for documentation impedes affected person care.
Most respondents famous that the EHR is troublesome to make use of. Solely 31.76% of all respondents (21.9% physicians, 38% nurses) agree or strongly agree that documenting affected person care utilizing digital well being information is simple. Reacting to the benefit of use of the EHR, solely 31.76% of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they discovered it straightforward to make use of, together with 21.9% of physicians and 38% of nurses. Moreover, 23.62% of respondents have been impartial, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, with 21.3% of physicians and 23.5% of nurses on this class. A big 44.61% disagreed or strongly disagreed, indicating difficulties with system usability, with 56.9% of physicians and 38.5% of nurses expressing dissatisfaction.
“The TrendBurden outcomes illuminate the pervasive problem of extreme documentation burden confronted by healthcare professionals throughout the nation,” mentioned Sarah Rossetti, R.N., Ph.D., AMIA 25×5 Job Power Chair, in an announcement. “These outcomes emphasize the pressing want for actionable options to alleviate this pressure on healthcare professionals prioritizing each high-quality affected person care and the well-being of those that present it.”
The TrendBurden Survey shall be administered once more in early fall 2024, looking for to broaden its attain even additional within the well being skilled neighborhood.
