KLAS: Personal Initiative Drives Clinician, Nurse EHR Satisfaction

Personal initiative is the most commonly reported reason for EHR success, according to a KLAS Arch Collaborative report that suggests leadership should encourage clinicians to take ownership of their EHR satisfaction.

The report examined the responses of over 3,000 highly satisfied EHR users.

On average, highly satisfied users reported a Net EHR Experience Score (NEES) more than twice as high as the average provider.

The report found that highly satisfied users are 3.8 times more likely to agree or strongly agree that initial training prepared them well to use the EHR.

Additionally, highly satisfied users are 6.6 times more likely to agree or strongly agree that their organization implemented the EHR well and 1.8 times more likely to have highly personalized EHR workflows.

When asked what differentiates them from less satisfied peers, highly satisfied EHR users said personal initiative is the most common success factor, including proactive efforts to learn the EHR platform.

The second most common response was that the clinician is experienced with the specific EHR from years of use at the current organization or a previous employer.

Highly satisfied providers indicated that using personalization tools was the main reason for their success with the EHR.

“EHR personalization is important for providers because it can enhance their overall experience with the system by making it feel reliable and efficient,” the KLAS authors wrote.

“However, provider comments about personalization reveal that too often, providers feel they are on their own when it comes to understanding what personalizations are available to them and how to make them and then finding time to implement them,” they added. “This aligns with the second most common factor in provider success, which is personal initiative to learn the EHR.”

Among nurses, personal initiative was the most influential factor for EHR success, with 30 percent of highly successful nurse respondents saying that being proactive about learning the EHR is key to their success.

Experience with the EHR and a positive mindset are the second and third most common responses. The authors pointed out that personalization tools are less important for nurses than providers, given that they are less prevalent in nurse workflows.