A KLAS survey found that dissatisfaction with electronic health records (EHR) is more likely to result in clinician resignations.
EHR satisfaction plays a significant role in clinicians' decision to continue at their organization, according to a report by KLAS.
Based on 59,000 clinicians surveyed, the research found that providers who are very dissatisfied with their organization's EHR are nearly three times more likely to leave in the next two years compared to those who are very satisfied with the EHR.
The report also highlighted the importance of EHR training, finding that clinicians who strongly disagree their training was specific to their workflow are more than twice as likely to leave their organization compared to those who strongly agree.
Additionally, EHR vendor satisfaction can influence clinicians' decision to leave. According to the survey, 32% of clinicians who strongly disagree that their vendor has designed a high-quality EHR are likely to leave their organization compared to 12% who strongly agree.
One strategy that can improve EHR satisfaction is reducing providers' afterhours charting time, the report stated. Clinicians who spend zero to five hours per week charting afterhours are likely to leave 16% of the time compared to 24% for those who chart more than 25 hours per week.
Charting burden also affects nurses, with the study finding that 30% of nurses who report spending five or more hours doing duplicative or unproductive charting per week are likely to leave their organization.
"While some clinicians chart after hours by choice, those who are efficient enough in the EHR to complete most of their charting during business hours tend to be more satisfied with the EHR and less burned out," the authors of the report wrote. "Charting efficiency can also be improved by implementing personalizations that are the most appropriate for each clinician's workflow."
EHR experience is far from the only factor causing clinician burnout, but it is an area hospitals and health systems have some control over to make the process easier for their providers.
"Healthcare leaders should focus on improving the areas of EHR satisfaction with the most room to improve," the authors wrote. "At a foundational level, organizations need to ensure their EHR has solid reliability (i.e., uptime) and quick response time, as these issues can overshadow even an otherwise good EHR experience."
Jay Asser is the contributing editor for strategy at HealthLeaders.