The cost of poor EHRs [VIDEO]

Transcript

Providers who ensure their electronic health records work efficiently will see several improvements in patient outcomes. However, because certification is so easily attainable, there are hundreds of EHRs that not only aren't effective, but could also end up negatively impacting patient care.

There are a number of major issues that could result from poorly functioning EHRs:

According to a 2014 national survey conducted by MPI Group, 45 percent of family practices indicated that poor EHRs have worsened their patient care.
This is caused by ineffective software designs that get in the way of face-to-face interaction due to features such as pop-up reminders and complex menus.

Another possibility is a decline in patient engagement. EHRs are meant to promote public and population health. Systems with confusing user interfaces do the opposite, ultimately turning patients away from electronic access instead of increasing interoperability between EHR systems and mobile technologies.

Safety issues are the third potential negative effect . One of the most widely reported issues is data transmission between various areas of the EHR, when a change in one part of the system inadvertently alters integral aspects in another part. Glitches after software updates can also lead to misrepresentation of data.

To learn more about EHR systems, be sure to watch next time!