This study, spanning 31 clinics, observed 307 PCPs at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Community health center PCPs spend 5.40 fewer minutes on EHRs, hinting at lower patient digital engagement. Team-based order handling correlates with reduced EHR time, notably benefiting those with pharmacy technician support. Moreover, experienced PCPs invest more time per visit. Surprisingly, PCP sex shows no significant EHR time association. The findings emphasize the need for diverse patient digital engagement strategies while endorsing team-oriented approaches and staff support to alleviate EHR burdens in community health settings.
Investigating EHR usage among 307 PCPs across 31 clinics highlighted disparities in time spent on electronic health records (EHR). Notably, PCPs in community health centers invested 5.40 fewer minutes per visit on EHRs, potentially indicating lower patient digital engagement. Collaborative order management and pharmacy technician support significantly reduced EHR time. Meanwhile, experienced PCPs expended more time per visit, contrasting with no distinct EHR time differences based on PCP sex. This study underscores the need to enhance diverse patient digital engagement while advocating for team-based practices and staff support to ease EHR burdens in community health settings.
Conducted across 31 primary care clinics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2021, the cross-sectional study involved 307 PCPs. The key discovery was that PCPs working in community health centers spent an average of 5.40 fewer minutes per patient visit on the EHR, encompassing time dedicated to the electronic inbox.
The researchers highlighted that this discrepancy in EHR usage might be indicative of lower digital engagement levels among patients within community health center settings. Previous studies have outlined various barriers, such as language barriers and lower digital comfort, affecting engagement with patient portals, especially among populations in community health settings, particularly those with non-English primary languages.
The study emphasized the ongoing necessity to explore avenues for engaging diverse patient populations in digital healthcare while concurrently addressing the objective of alleviating EHR burden for physicians.
Moreover, the research discovered correlations between higher levels of teamwork in handling orders and reduced EHR time, pajama time, and electronic inbox time per patient visit. Notably, a greater team contribution to orders corresponded with a 3.81-minute decrease in EHR time per visit for PCPs. Additionally, clinics with a pharmacy technician on staff saw a reduction of 7.87 minutes in EHR time per visit compared to those without such support.
The study authors underscored the significance of team-based workflows in primary care, as they can significantly enhance clinical outcomes and the overall care experience for both clinicians and other team members. They emphasized the potential benefit of processes that amplify the involvement of team members in EHR-related workflows to optimize EHR time for PCPs.
Furthermore, the findings indicated potential areas for investment to bolster EHR-related staff support. For instance, pharmacy technicians could play a pivotal role in reducing EHR time by addressing medication fill issues and assisting physicians with prior authorizations.
At the individual PCP level, the study highlighted a positive association between the number of years since residency and total EHR time and pajama time per visit. This might suggest that PCPs with more experience tend to conduct longer visits with patients they are familiar with or exhibit differences in technological proficiency.
Interestingly, unlike some previous research, this study did not find a significant association between PCP sex and EHR time outcomes in their adjusted models, despite initial associations in univariate analyses. The authors speculated that differences in EHR-related resources available in clinics and interactions between patients and physicians might influence EHR time, rather than solely being attributed to PCP sex.
Overall, this study, unveiling disparities in EHR time among 307 PCPs in diverse practice settings, signals a need for tailored digital engagement strategies in community health centers. Notably, reduced EHR time correlates with teamwork and pharmacy technician support, indicating avenues to alleviate burdens. Contrary to assumptions, experienced PCPs invest more time, while PCP sex shows no significant impact on EHR time. Emphasizing team-based strategies and staff support can potentially enhance patient care experiences and optimize EHR usage for PCPs, especially in community health settings, warranting further exploration and targeted interventions.
