Supportive Health IT Structure Linked to Global EHR Satisfaction

Supportive health IT structure is the factor most associated with EHR satisfaction, according to a KLAS Arch Collaborative report.

In global health systems, clinicians who strongly agree that their organization supports the EHR well are 132 times more likely to report EHR satisfaction than those who strongly disagree.

Those who disagree or strongly disagree that their organization provides sufficient support for the EHR account for 26 percent of all respondents from global health systems.

According to an Arch Collaborative webinar hosted by King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, healthcare organizations should create a high-trust environment by engaging clinicians in EHR governance.

The webinar also highlighted how clinician champions who share the same clinical background as end-users can help support EHR optimization by reporting clinical workflow challenges to governance committees.

Additionally, the presentation suggested healthcare organizations standardize new-hire education and use ongoing EHR education to focus on end-users’ specialties and needs.

Globally, only 11 percent of clinicians strongly agree that their ongoing EHR education is sufficient. Almost two-thirds of respondents reported that they would like additional training.

“Training represents a significant opportunity for global organizations to improve the overall EHR experience since clinicians at these organizations who strongly agree that their ongoing training is sufficient are 25 times more likely to be satisfied with their EHR than those who strongly disagree,” the report authors wrote.

Previous research has found that self-directed eLearning is not as effective as other types of training. Additionally, clinician satisfaction with training is higher when the training lasts at least an hour. Healthcare organizations can leverage these evidence-based practices to build successful EHR training programs.  

The report found that clinician burnout is a global issue, with 26 percent of clinicians reporting at least some symptoms of burnout.

Nurses and allied health professionals are the most likely to be experiencing burnout compared to other clinical roles.

Arch Collaborative data has provided insights into several factors correlated with burnout. While the data is not specific to global respondents, it can help identify potential focus areas, the report authors noted.  

Collaborative data has found that clinicians who strongly disagree that their ongoing EHR training is sufficient are 3.5 times more likely to report feeling burned out.

The time a clinician spends charting can significantly impact clinician burden. Globally, clinicians with a highly efficient chart-closure rate (ie, they complete more than 66 percent of charts the same day) are less likely to report burnout. The report authors noted that efficient charting also leads to higher EHR satisfaction in both inpatient and outpatient environments.