Electronic health records contribute to doctor burnout

Computerized health systems that were supposed to save physicians time and stress are instead helping fuel doctor burnout, research shows.

“The clerical burden associated with electronic health records has been a major contributing factor to physician burnout, with computerized physician order entry as the biggest source of frustration,” Dr. Tait Shanafelt, the lead author of a study on the issue and director of the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being, told U.S. News.

The electronic health records (EHRs) promise to deliver new efficiencies, helping track everything from bookkeeping to patient care. 

Nearly half of U.S. doctors are burned out, according to research, and many believe EHRs are partly to blame.

Completing even the simplest task can be a challenge, Shanafelt says.

“When you’re just writing a prescription or ordering a test, you sometimes feel like you’re fighting a computer for five minutes to do something that used to take five seconds,” Shanafelt told U.S. News.

Shanafelt and his colleagues surveyed roughly 6,500 physicians nationwide.

According to the findings, 63 percent of physicians responded that EHRs fail to improve efficiency with only 23 percent reporting efficiency increases with their use.

Read more at U.S. News.